Life's Lemons
by AmJay5785
Summary: Elizabeth Webber thought that her life was exactly the way she wanted it. But when an old more than friend needs her, she begins to realize that she might not know what she wants anymore. Liason
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Officer Lucky Spencer pissed off the wrong man.

Manny Ruiz was normally a very edgy and angry person. But when someone stood in his way, screwed with his plans and stepped on _his_ toes, they better watch out because all hell would break loose.

Ruiz came to Port Charles on a simple mission: Take down Sonny Corinthos and become the most powerful mobster on the Eastern Seaboard. Who knew that he would be so lucky that Sonny's right hand man would not remember a damn thing about his life, and that Sonny would be so distracted taking care of his crazy ex-wife while trying to maintain a relationship with his new beau Reese, or was it Caroline, no that was his ex-wife's name, oh who the hell could keep track anymore.

Port Charles would be his and handed over to him on a silver platter.

Until Spencer had to stick his whinny pansy ass in Ruiz's face.

Didn't the PCPD know that it was in their best interest to stay out of the "alleged mob's" way? Obviously Officer Spencer just wasn't as bright as one would hope. For God's sake the man allowed his woman to get knocked up by another man to pay off his bills. What an idiot.

Everything was going according to plan, even better with the unfortunate circumstances that Sonny found himself in. Then everything went to hell. Ruiz's enforcer and brother, Tito, was sent to meet Sonny to ensure that he knew his time was limited. Who knew that the stupid cop would be there trying to find his whack job of a cousin on orders from John Durant.

When Tito showed up at Hotel Corinthos, guns were drawn, some guard was killed, Sonny's lawyer brother was wounded, and Officer Shithead managed to get a shot at Tito and arrest him.

Now Tito was in the hospital recovering from a wound in his side and when the trial would start he would face Life or the Death Penalty. With Officer Shithead as the key witness, due to the fact that he was the _only_ one who saw Tito aim, fire, and hit the guard and Lansing.

There was one thing that Ruiz did not tolerate and that was screwing with his family. He would just have to make sure that the little shit would not be around to testify to succeed in this temporary set back.

Hospitals sucked, headaches sucked, and not being able to remember who the hell you were really sucked.

* * *

Jason Morgan was not a patient man. Whether or not this was a new trait or a very unattractive old one, he couldn't tell given the fact that he didn't have a clue as to who he was.

Except for the fact that he was a brain damaged, killing machine, who supposedly loved Sam McCall, he didn't know a damn thing. He also apparently seemed to be the biggest hero in the world because everyone he came in contact with needed him. Emily needed him to give her truthful advice even though he had no clue as to who she was or what the hell was going on in her life. Sam needed him to love her because apparently the two of them had no one else in the world but each other, which seemed like a very lonely and boring existence if anyone asked him. But yet no one seemed to ask him anything. But the list didn't end there, Sonny needed him to be this monster, this Carly lady needed him to be her best friend and save her, and his "father" Alan needed him to be the long lost son he lost ten years ago in an accident that wiped his memory away.

Who the hell was Jason Morgan, and why did he let his life turn into such a circus?

If all of these people were supposed to lean on him, who the hell could he lean on?

Just as that thought passed through his head there was a soft knock on his door that signaled the nurse that would start his treatment so he wouldn't croak and die because of his condition.

Before Jason could answer the door slowly opened and a head poked in.

"Hi" came the hesitant greeting and in walked a very petite nurse with dark chestnut hair pulled to the top of her head, and the most kind soulful blue eyes that Jason had every seen, in the couple of days that he could remember.

"Hi" was the gruff reply that came from the amnesiac grumpy patient.

The nurse seemed to be a little uncomfortable under his heated gaze, and apparently the only way to ease the tension was to ramble.

"How are you doing today? Wait don't answer that it's a stupid question. Sometimes I seem to just shove my foot right into my mouth and…" Looking up at the man the babbling nurse could tell that she was just confusing the hell out of him. The man's forehead was scrunched tight and he seemed to be studying her intently.

Feeling the need to take things a little slower the nurse asked a simpler question "Are you ready for your treatment today Jason?"

Apparently using his first name only caused him to study her more and the only thing she could think of popped out of her mouth "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do I know you?" His question seemed to shock her because the pretty nurse opened and shut her mouth a couple of times trying to figure out something to say. Sensing her uneasiness Jason added more to his abrupt question. "I mean only the people I should know use my first name; every other nurse I see always calls me Mr. Morgan when they first meet me. You are either just a nice person or you know me." After a brief pause where he expected her to answer him he poised the question "So which one is it?"

"Both"

"What?"

The nurse gave him an easy smile which seemed to ease some of the tension out of his shoulders. She gave a little laugh and answered him "I like to think that I'm a nice person," and for some reason that made Jason's lips twitch with amusement as she added "but yes we… know each other. My name is Elizabeth."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

With raised eyebrows Jason repeated "Elizabeth….." If he was expecting that this Elizabeth would embellish on this new information he just received he was sadly mistaken.

The only response he received was a curt nod and a "Yes."

Since she first walked into the room all he seemed to do was stare at her with a little bit of curiosity and expectance. It seemed like Jason expected her to fill him with useless stories and explain what they were to each other. If it had been three or maybe four years ago Elizabeth would have jumped at the chance, but now she had no clue as to what to do. How could she explain to him what they were to each other when she had no clue herself? Were they friends, or merely acquaintances who said hi when passing each other on the street, or sat down for a cup of coffee in Kelly's if they ever seemed to run into each other. If he asked then she would try to explain to him how they knew each other, until then she would just let him "be."

"That's it?"

"Yup, well my last name is Webber." She replied hoping that this little stalling technique would throw him off for now.

Two could play at that game "So I'm not going to get a heartfelt story about how we know each other?"

"Not unless you ask." Please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't..

"Good. No offense or anything but for right now could we just not get into our history or anything?"

Thank God "Whatever you want. I'm sure this….situation your in has got to be very hard. I don't want to add to the confusion that you are most likely going through right now. Not that I have the slightest clue as to what you are going through. But if you just ever need someone to listen to you." It might have been pushing it, but Elizabeth thought it best to leave that last part open for his interpretation.

It was at that moment that Elizabeth realized she had not moved from the spot that she first occupied. "I guess I'll just set up your IV so you can get your treatment and go home." She stated as she walked towards him.

Home. Where the hell was that? Was the Penthouse supposed to be home? Was… Jason couldn't go further with his thoughts because at that moment the door was thrown open and another petite brunette walked in. He couldn't help it; he cringed once he saw her. It was true that she was the one who was with him when he woke up, and she did seem to care. Jason felt sorry for her because every time he was with her she cried and told him how she couldn't lose him. But every time he turned around there she was. Maybe they were something together, but for gods sake she needed to give him room to breathe.

He didn't seem to be the only one in the room to tense up at Sam's arrival; Elizabeth stilled in her movements for a split second but then returned to her task at hand. It was odd how he could take in almost every detail of his surroundings, but that must be what came with the territory of being Sonny's right hand man, a mob enforcer.

"Hey Jason, how are you doing? You left for your appointment without telling me, I wanted to come and sit with you" Sam greeted as she walked up to him and put her hand on his forearm.

She always had to touch him. For some reason that bothered the hell out of him, but to keep the peace and the water works down he just didn't tell her to stop.

He was more than happy to sit with himself but that was just another concept she didn't seem to grasp. "Yeah well…" Thank goodness for Elizabeth at that moment because she saved him from the grueling task of explaining himself.

"Sorry but I have to get this set up." When Elizabeth tried to move to Jason's side Sam didn't seem to want to budge. "Excuse me Sam but I need to get to Jason." She supplied with ease and it looked like it probably took a Herculean effort on Sam's part to let another person near him.

As she moved to the foot of the bed she traveled her hand down his leg and let it rest on his ankle. Sam continued on still with no acknowledgement to Elizabeth in the room. "I was wondering if after this treatment you would want to go somewhere just the two of us and we could talk….about us? You haven't remembered anything yet and I thought it would be best if I explained things to you and maybe that would trigger some type of memory of you and me."

Apparently Sam figured the only thing important in his life worth remembering was his love for her.

Just when he was about to reply he was distracted by another touch. Except this one wasn't as nerve racking, it made him feel a little bit of a pull. Elizabeth gently rolled up his sleeve in order to inject his IV. If she felt whatever he was feeling she didn't show it.

Elizabeth mistook his shiver as that of coldness and apologized "Sorry but my hands are cold, I probably should have warned you." And she would have too if a certain someone would've stopped badgering Jason for a second.

Choosing to let her think that was the reason, he turned his head to reassure her when he made eye contact for the second time since she entered the room, at that moment he couldn't quite explain the feeling that was running through him. Her eyes seemed to communicate so many things to him in that moment. Sympathy, reassurance, but also…. Understanding? With a slight curve of his lips he replied "That's ok."

Sam was getting a little annoyed at being ignored so she decided to continue while raising her eyebrows to emphasize her question "So what do you say?"

With a sigh of reluctance Jason replied with the only thing he could think of "Fine."

Once again Elizabeth noticed the tension in the room rise a little and decided it would be best if she left. "Well I'm all done here. Just sit tight, let the medication run through your system and your doctor will be with you in a little bit to discuss how things are going."

For some odd reason Jason didn't want her to leave him alone with Sam but decided to keep it to himself. "Thanks." With that she walked towards the door turned to Jason and smiled, "See you later." And for the first time since he could remember Jason was looking forward to later.

* * *

The second Elizabeth reluctantly left Jason's room she was grabbed from behind and her back collided with someone's chest.

"Hey there I was looking for you." Was the whispered and erotic statement right next to the shell of her ear that sent chills down her spine.

Turning around in his arms she smiled with ease and relief to see that it was him "Hey Lucky what are you doing here?"

"Well I'm on lunch break right now and I would love nothing more than to spend my time with my beautiful fiancé while eating gross hospital food"

Giving him a quick kiss and a killer smile she answered "Ohhhh well I would love that too just let me finish my rounds and we can go to lunch." Pulling out of his arms after another chaste kiss they turned and walked to the nurse's station.

During their cute little reunion neither seemed to notice the man covered in tattoos walk out of another hospital room. Any other person would have walked away and ignored the attractive couple, but Manny Ruiz wasn't every other person. He had just finished a quick visit with his injured brother who was in the hospital and facing trial because of Spencer. No, Ruiz didn't walk away he had a special interest in this couple.

'Don't get to comfortable Spencer, your time will come.' Ruiz thought as he watched them walk away hand in hand. In his mind he was already devising a plan as to how he was going to make Officer Shithead suffer.

* * *

After his appointment and another long discussion with Tony as to how his situation was very critical, Jason and Sam headed back to the Penthouse. She wanted to take him somewhere special for the two of them. But where could they go? They didn't really have any special place. The best she could come up with was ordering Chinese food and hopefully triggering some type of memory of the time he proposed to her.

Putting the phone back on the receiver Sam turned to face Jason's back as he looked at the pictures on the fireplace. "Well the food should be here in about forty-five minutes." All she got in return was a simple shrug of his shoulders. Growing uneasy she walked up to him a placed what she thought was a reassuring hand on his shoulder and asked "Are you okay? Did what Tony say at your appointment upset you? Please Jason tell me what is going on I want to help you."

'No' he thought bitterly, she just wanted him to remember so he could be the man she loved. As he turned around to face her he shrugged off her hand and was about to tell her to just leave him alone, but once he saw the hurt in her eyes he didn't want to upset her further. "There wasn't anything new that Tony said. My life is in danger, I can't remember a damn thing about myself, and what I know so far I don't like."

Feeling her eyes water Sam placed both hands on his chest "That's because you have only heard a small portion of who you are. Let me help you. Let me tell you about our love for each other and how we got this way."

Not being able to stand the contact and the look of hope in her eyes Jason turned away and walked towards the pool table. "I just…" not being able to come up with any reason as to why he didn't want to hear about his 'love' for her he caved "you can try, but I can't…" giving a huff of annoyance he turned to face her and continued "I can't stand to see the look in your eyes when you realize I can't remember you. Everyone wants me to remember them, but I can't, and there is always this look of disappointment in their eyes when they realize that."

Noticing the wounded look in his eyes but finally feeling as if she was finally getting somewhere, she decided to jump at the chance to recall their undying love. "Would you please sit down?" When he walked over to the couch she sat right next to him. She was about to caress his cheek when she looked into his impatient eyes and thought better of it. Now that she had his attention she didn't know where to start.

She was staring at him and it made him uneasy. He just wished she would begin so he could get this over with. She seemed hesitant at first but once she started she didn't seem to want to stop. She told him about how they started as friends, but because of their love for her child they grew to love each other. She recounted the events of loosing the baby and how they grieved for her, their, child and grew close. Even though it was suppose to be his life with her he couldn't help but look at the position from an outsider's perspective. It seemed that they grew close out of grief. They needed someone to lean on and who best to lean on then someone who knew what you were going through? He couldn't help but wonder if the baby didn't die, or if he didn't decide to play hero and claim to be the baby's father, would they have developed these feelings for each other?

It was when she got to the part of his nephew/one time son, Michael's, kidnapping that he grew uncomfortable. For some reason he couldn't listen anymore, he didn't _want_ to listen anymore. She was in the middle of explaining how he was the only one who believed she didn't kidnap Kristina when he stood abruptly.

"Jason what's wrong? What's going on?" Concern was etched all over her face but he didn't care to ease it.

"I gotta..I have to get out of here." The walls were slowly closing in on him and it was getting harder to breathe "I just, I need air."

Rising she walked towards him "Ok 'I'll go with you."

Before she could reach him he was already at the door opening it "Alone" and with that he was gone.

* * *

Her lunch with Lucky ended short because he was called into the station. She finished up for the day and was about to leave when yet another handsome man approached her. At one time she might have been pleased to see Jax, but right now, because of this unlikely situation they were all in, she just wanted to run as far away as possible.

Giving his all famous cocky smile Jax approached Elizabeth "Hello Elizabeth I was looking for you." He seemed to be oozing with confidence and that just seemed to annoy her all the more.

"That seems to be the running comment for the day" was all she was going to give him as she started for the elevators.

"What?"

"Never mind," Turning to face him she continued "Look Jax I'm tired, I've had a long day, I just want to go pick up my son go home and put my feet up. What is it that you want now?"

Choosing to ignore her feisty attitude he answered her question, "I have a proposition for you…"

"Not interested"

That attitude was really starting to get on his nerve but he still hedged on "Just hear me out ok. If you do that I will leave you alone...for now." He added as she raised her eyebrows giving him silent permission to go on. "As you are well aware of I married a whore who will jump into any bed with any man if he paid enough attention to her." When she was about to interrupt him again he continued on quickly. "Believe me Elizabeth I did not sign myself up for this hell of a marriage knowing this about Courtney. I truly _loved_ her. My best intentions were to make her life happy and for the two of us to raise this baby. Why should I be punished because her insecurities caused her to jump into bed with Nicholas and then shove it in my face?"

She was starting to soften but apparently he didn't notice because he went on and opened his big mouth prompting her to put her defense back on. "I will give you five million dollars for this child if you do not fight me for custody."

Placing a hand on her forehead she tried to process this ridiculous concept "Excuse me?" It was a harsh whisper and yet another thing Jax seemed to overlook.

"Its simple once this baby is born you will receive five million dollars and you can't fight me for custody."

"I am not going to sell this baby to you." Elizabeth shook her head with anger and fatigue.

"What do you mean you are not going to sell this baby to me?" He stepped closer so that the people who were stopping to stare at them wouldn't hear the conversation. "What do you think this whole arrangement is. I gave you and Lucky money for you to have my child which you were then going to hand over to me. How is this any different? I am just offering more money."

Tired of the same argument, and a little annoyed that she saw his point Elizabeth looked at him shook her head and walked away. "Just…I need to be by myself right now Jax." And with that she was gone.

* * *

Elizabeth Webber was pissed.

She was pissed because Courtney and Nicholas started this downward spiral with their inability to resist each other, she was pissed because Jax was constantly scheming up ways to take this baby, but she was mostly pissed at herself for the way she was acting. If she sat down and really looked at the situation she couldn't blame Jax. His wife cheated on him with her best friend's husband and he just wanted to be a father to this child. She was a single mother so what gave her the right to refuse to let Jax be a single father. Now she was even more pissed because she was starting to see Jax's point.

She was walking along the docks so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the man standing right in front of her. With all of her gracefulness she ran straight into one of the most muscular chests she had ever had the pleasure of bumping into. "Ump…" was all she could say when two strong arms encircled her waist. The heat was slowly rising into her cheeks when she looked up and apologized "I'm so sorry" when her eyes made their final destination she was met with two familiar stormy ice blue eyes "Jason?"

"Elizabeth."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Time seemed to stand still as both Jason and Elizabeth stared into each others eyes lost in their own worlds. For Elizabeth, it was just like old times. Looking into his open blue eyes, seeing exactly what he was feeling. In the past sometimes what she saw scared her, other times it made her feel special, but now it just seemed to confuse her all the more. At the beginning of their friendship she saw kindness and understanding behind those blue orbs. When he returned home the second time she saw longing and desire. When he returned home in the summer of 2002, she saw hesitancy, desire again, and what she thought was love, until their worlds blew apart, but that was a completely different story. Now she saw confusion, sadness, and was that…recognition?

For Jason it was a new experience. The only other time that he looked into her big doe eyes was when she was giving him his treatment earlier in the hospital. He felt something when they locked eyes earlier but couldn't really explain it. All he knew was he never felt that way when he looked into Sam's eyes. Maybe he wasn't being fair to her, but a man really could only take so much. Sure she lost the "love of her life" when he woke up with no memory, but maybe he would be more open to remembering their love if she just gave him time and space. The whole technique of shoving information down his throat, and being with him every second of every day was slowly driving him to insanity. But when he looked into Elizabeth's eyes at that moment on the docks, he felt something else. She was looking at him like she could tell exactly what he was feeling and that scared him. But instead of breaking eye contact he decided to do a little studying himself.

If she could trespass into his soul, then he should be aloud to do the same thing.

Finally realizing that she was still in his arms Elizabeth stepped back just as he dropped his arms. Neither one could tell how long they were holding onto the other, but it did seem like an inappropriate amount of time considering they were "strangers."

Elizabeth, always being the talker, was growing uncomfortable in the silence. She gave a nervous laugh while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She plastered her well practiced "everything is fine" smile on her face and was about to break the silence when Jason beat her to it.

Studying her for a while and sensing something was wrong he tilted his head to the side and jutted his chin in her direction, "You seem upset."

Well if it didn't seem like old times when they were staring into each other's eyes, it sure as hell felt like old times after that simple statement. Even with his memory gone he could still read her like a book. He could always tell when she was upset or faking, it seemed like some things never changed. Either that or she was just that transparent. Tucking that damn piece of hair behind her ear again she walked around him to stare out at the water, "What? No no no, I'm fine."

Turning around to face her profile he felt the need to continue. "No, no your not. You seem fine, but your eyes seem…sad." Why the hell he felt the need to find out what was dimming those beautiful eyes was lost on him. Yet, for some reason he needed to know, he needed to ease her pain.

Oh for the love of…, why on earth did he have to go and say that? It had been way too long since her and Jason opened up to each other. They both moved on with their lives, and they never seemed to register on each others radar anymore. Now he was just making it way to easy to fall back into their old pattern of just sitting for hours and talking. If she were honest with herself she would admit that she missed him terribly. But how could she dump her problems on him when he had a truck load of his own?

As if sensing her hesitancy he shrugged his shoulders, "You know, if you need someone to listen." Using her words from earlier that day seemed to work because she turned to face him with a beautiful smile that could probably bring any man to his knees.

"Thanks." He thought that she was going to walk away but instead she sat down on a bench by the stairs. Taking that as an invitation he followed her.

She really didn't want to dump this on him but she never could resist the invitation of opening up her mind and letting Jason listen to her thoughts.

She stared out into the water as she told her story. "I'm pregnant. I'm just being a surrogate to this couple that I know," she added quickly, too quickly. "They can't have children of their own so I offered to let them use my womb as a host. Only it turned out that the mother couldn't produce eggs, so I'm technically the biological mother. I agreed to this because I wanted to give this couple the miracle of a child, but also because my fiancé and I are financially in trouble." If she wouldn't have been lost in her own world she would have seen the slight dim in Jason's eyes at the mention of her having a fiancé.

Saying the situation out loud to a person who had no idea what was going on really made her situation sound even crazier than before, but she continued on. "Now this couple is getting a divorce because his wife, Courtney, cheated on him with one of my best friend's who is also married. I am not even four months pregnant, and already the child is supposed to go into a broken home. I agreed to this surrogacy under the impression that this child would have a two parent loving home, and would have the best life. But now everything is just so messed up." Rolling her eyes and giving a sigh of displeasure she continued on' "Now my fiancé thinks it would be better if we got married right away in order to make him the legal father. That way we could fight for custody, and the child would have two parents"

"What do you think?"

Turning her body to face him she answered "At first I thought Lucky, my fiancé, was right. I thought that_ I_ was right in trying to make sure the father, Jax, had no rights to this child if he and Courtney were going to split. But now I'm not so sure." Nibbling on her bottom lip and looking at him hesitantly she decided to emphasize her dilemma "How could I refuse to not let him be a single father, when I am a single mother? My son was born out of wedlock and his father was killed in a police shoot out. I raised my son by myself for the first eighteen months of his life. Just because it was only me there for him didn't mean that he wasn't as loved as a child with two parents. How could I take away this child when I never had any legal rights to her?"

Maybe his life wasn't as fucked up as Jason thought. Everyone seemed to have their problems, and just by listening to Elizabeth's he realized that the world really did suck.

"Jax and Lucky do not get along at all. They are always fighting about this child and mostly me, and now I am stuck in the middle. Am I betraying Lucky by thinking about not fighting Jax for this baby, or am I breaking a father's heart by taking his child away?"

Not knowing how to answer, or even knowing if she realized that he was still there, Jason just continued to listen to her battle between right and wrong. Or what was supposed to be right and wrong.

"How do I even have the right to decide?" She asked on a whisper with a hint of tears.

Feeling slightly confused but deciding to finally add his input Jason looked out into the water with a determined look on his face. "You can't fault this guy for being a single parent since you are one yourself, but you also don't want to make your fiancé mad. Maybe what is best in this situation is what is best for you."

Some how summing up her twenty minute declaration in two sentences didn't seem fair to Elizabeth, but that was Jason, simple. Old times were really starting to make their presence known.

"I think what is best for me is to come up with some type of compromise with Jax." And another five million dollars was completely out of the picture. "So what are you doing out here? You seemed to be concentrating really hard when I not so gracefully bumped into you." She was changing the subject, but at least now there was humor in her soulful eyes.

Simply shrugging his shoulders and squinting his eyes as he stared past her shoulder "I just needed air. I must have been out here for awhile though, it was still daylight when I walked by here. The water just seemed calming so I stopped."

"You know, you listened to me, I could do the same for you."

Taking her earlier approach and staring out into the water Jason began to recall his displeasure in his current condition. "Everyone expects me to be like I was before. It hasn't been that long since I lost my memory but everyday someone is trying to get me to remember." Turning his head to look at her with intensity behind his baby blues he studied her' "except you, I've only seen you twice, but you haven't told me endless times how I should be. Why is that? You said we know each other. Why aren't you like everyone else and trying to make me remember how I was before?"

Here came the inevitable. Defining what their relationship was to him, but also to her. Their past was easy to describe, it was the crap that followed that would be the real kicker to explain. Especially how two close friends, more than friends, turned into acquaintances, if they could even be called that.

Just as her mind was focusing on her response and her mouth was forming the words a deep voice that defiantly did not belong to her popped up.

"Jason, man, I've been looking for you. Sam called worried about you and wanted me to find you."

If Jason gave a damn about what this man thought, he would have kept his groan to himself. But since he really could give a shit about Sonny Corinthos he sighed loudly and looked away.

Having her back to Sonny, Elizabeth could really look at Jason and see his annoyance. She would have told Sonny where he could shove it, but for some reason she felt the need to ease the tension that seemed to follow Jason everywhere.

Turning and standing up Elizabeth greeted him. "Hey Sonny."

"Hello," he offered with a dimpled smile. Jason was now standing behind her facing Sonny with his all famous enforcer glare. Deciding to get down to business he continued "I really need to speak to you Jason, it's important and it can't wait."

"Yeah it can, I was in the middle of a conversation with Elizabeth." Not feeling that he owed him anymore of an explanation he left it at that. Maybe Sonny was this great man to him before and he owed him his life, but right now he could care less. Every time he saw Sonny he was just supposed to drop everything for the man that he didn't even know. Well that was bullshit and…

"No it's ok," turning to face him again she put her back towards Sonny "I should really get going, I was supposed to pick up Cameron about" looking down at her watch her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Were they really talking for that long? "Wow about an hour ago. I'm sorry to just leave but my Gram's is probably worried out of her mind. Thanks for everything, I'll see you later, maybe we can finish our talk." Giving him a tentative smile she turned towards the stairs after he gave a nod of his head and a smile of his own. She gave Sonny a less bright smile and continued on her way.

Both men watched as the woman went on her way. Once she was out of sight Sonny's curiosity got the best of him, "What was that about?"

Choosing to ignore the man's question he answered with one of his own "What do you want?"

* * *

If it was one thing that Alcazar hated the most, it was when someone waltzed into his home when he was in the middle of pleasuring a nameless beauty. But ever since he enlisted Manny Ruiz into his scheme to take Sonny down, the man turned into a permanent thorn in his side.

After receiving word from his faithful guard that Ruiz demanded Alcazars attention at that very moment, he rolled off of the leggy blonde without a second thought. No one could ever replace Carly, no matter how hard he tried. It was sick how even after all that she did to him he still couldn't get her out of his mind.

Tying the sash of his robe tight around himself he walked into the living room.

"Well it looks like I came at a bad time." Ruiz had a sick perverted smirk on his face that made Lorenzo want to end this meeting as soon as possible.

"What do you want? You come into my home, interrupt me, and make smart remarks, state your business and get the hell out of my face." Turning around and walking over to his wet bar, Lorenzo poured himself a drink. Ruiz had better hurry up because his patience was running very thin.

"Wow, asshole you came to me remember. Don't start acting all fucking superior to me now. We still have a deal. There was just a little set back in our plan." Choosing to ignore Alcazars snort of sarcasm Ruiz went on, "I want to make Spencer pay for his interference in this, and once he is taken care of we can continue on with our plan to take Corinthos down."

Turning to face Ruiz with a scowl on his face Lorenzo finished off his drink. "What the hell does Spencer have to do with Sonny? You just want to get revenge because he caught your screw-up brother."

Stalking towards Lorenzo with angry steps Ruiz was standing toe to toe with the other mobster, "He is the only one who is a witness to the ambush, everyone else that was there were either smart enough to keep their mouth's shut, or they didn't see anything. Either way that is only half the point. Tito is in custody awaiting trial for an attack on Sonny. If we take Sonny down during this trial then all fingers will point to us. If Spencer is taken care of first…." giving a wicked smile he continued and backed off the other man a bit "then Tito wont have to stand trial since there won't be any evidence and then the coast will be clear to kill Sonny."

Never being a man to turn down the invitation to screw with the authorities, Lorenzo smirked as he poured two glasses of bourbon. Handing Ruiz one he asked "What do you have in mind?"

Feeling victorious, Ruiz took a gulp of the burning liquid and asked, "What do you know about his little woman Elizabeth Webber?"

* * *

Feeling a little hurt by the anger in his best friend's eyes and voice Sonny decided that he needed to tread on thinner water when it came to Jason. "I need to talk to you about Ruiz,"

"Find someone else to do it." Starting to walk away already knowing that Sonny wanted him to take care of the man, he was stopped by the pleading in his "friends" voice.

"Please Jason, I need you man. This guy is trying to take me down. He may be involved with Alcazar who is another major threat, and my, OUR, family is in danger."

Turning to face Sonny again Jason looked at him, really looked at him and saw a lost man. For some reason he didn't think that this emptiness was new to Sonny. He knew that he should feel something for this man. He was told over and over again by Sam that Sonny was his Boss and best friend, but he really didn't know what to feel anymore. His defense was falling slightly so he decided to wait patiently as the man described his turmoil.

"He sent his men into my home and they shot the place up. He didn't care that Carly was there. She is already loosing her mind, she doesn't need this shit. My girlfriend Reese was there and so was my brother Ric." Getting angry at the situation Sonny turned to look out at the water. The waves seemed to be a very relaxing sound to anyone who needed to reach down into themselves and voice their feelings.

"Ruiz needs to be taken care of, his brother is already facing jail time because an officer was there and witnessed the whole incident, but Ruiz is ruthless. He has a reputation of letting nothing stand in his way. My children have been in danger before," growing angry with himself he faced Jason and sliced a hand through the air "I will not let that happen again!"

Nodding his head, Jason stuffed his hands in his pockets "What do you want me to do about it?"

Mistaking the question as instructions instead of curiosity he answered "You need to send a message to Ruiz that I will not tolerate any of his or Alcazar's bullshit."

This seemed like such a natural order from Sonny that it made Jason uneasy. Was it really that easy to give an order to kill someone? Better yet, was it that easy for Jason to accept the order? Sure he had all of his instincts. He killed two men at the clinic, and he knew enough about weaponry that it would make a solider jealous, but could he really go through with the order? Could he kill a man and be able to look at himself in the mirror after it was all over?

* * *

Picking up Cameron had been a nightmare. Her Gram's asked her a thousand and one questions that made her head start to spin. The motto for the day was "old times were surfacing again," and boy was it true. Her Gram's was scolding her like she was seventeen again, and she had been sitting on the docks having a conversation with Jason earlier that evening. Sometimes it felt good to go back in time.

Walking into her apartment she was startled to see Lucky sitting on the couch. "Oh hey, let me just put Cameron down and I'll be right back." After carrying the sleeping infant into his room she returned to see Lucky looking at her with disapproval written all over his face.

"Where have you been? I got off early tonight and thought we could make up for our lunch that was cut short but you weren't here. Instead I get to listen to three messages from Audrey about how she can't find you. I was about to go looking for you when I heard the fourth one letting me know not to worry because you finally showed up an hour late."

Not believing her ears as she heard him scold her like a two year old, Elizabeth brushed right passed him and into the kitchen to start the tea kettle. When she felt as if she wouldn't rip his head off she returned to the living room.

Placing her hands on her hips and jutting her chin out in defiance she asked, "Who the hell do you think you are?" there goes the whole idea of his head staying attached to his body. "I may be your fiancé Lucky, and I am sorry that I had you and Grams worrying, but you are not my father and you have NO right to attack me like that. If you must know I had a very interesting conversation with Jax and decided to take a detour to the docks on my way home." Deciding it best to keep the argument as civil as possible she decided to leave Jason out of it. There was no need to get into _that _past situation again.

He was angry that he didn't get to spend the night with her, but now his anger boiled into something more when she mentioned Jax. Standing up from the couch he towered over her, "What did Jax say? Is he bothering you?"

Deciding to ignore the whistle of the tea pot, Elizabeth thought it better to just get it out in the open now. "No, well yes, kind of. You know what it doesn't matter. What matters is that I think I have come up with a solution to this baby problem. All I have to do is get Jax to agree."

"What is the solution?"

"Joint custody."

All Lucky could do was stare at her with shock.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Joint…joint custody, wha….. what are you thinking, are you crazy?"

Eyes wide with anger, hands still resting stubbornly on her hips, Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me? What is so crazy about joint custody?"

Lucky could not believe what he was hearing. Elizabeth, his fiancée, was contemplating sharing _her _child with Jax. The man who had been nothing but a pain in the ass ever since this whole surrogacy bullshit started and she wanted to know what was so crazy about the idea. They had agreed that the child deserved to live in a household with two parents, not being shuffled around from home to home every other week. They were supposed to get married, make him the legal father, and get rid of fancy pants-corporate raider-smooth talking-lady lovin Jasper Jax. Not make him a permanent fixture in their lives. What the hell was she thinking?

Moving closer to her with confusion etched all over his face Lucky asked, "What do you mean, what is so crazy about that?" He placed a hand on his chest as he stood inches from her in front of their couch/bed while he continued to rant "_We_ were supposed to raise this child as our own, you as the mother and me as the father. If you agree to joint custody, Jax will do everything in his power to make sure that I have nothing to do with this child."

Being this close to him while she was so angry with him was starting to make Elizabeth feel uneasy. She never wanted to hit someone so bad in her life. Well, except for the time that Courtney stole Jason from her, and there was that time when she found Lucky in bed with her sister, and who could forget the time when…. Ok so she had wanted to hit a couple of people a couple of times, but she was different now. She didn't ease her anger with someone by taking a cheap, but well needed, shot at slapping them right across the face. She was a grown woman with a child, and another one on the way. So what if Lucky was looking at her like she had just lost her ever-loving mind, and she was the stupidest person in the world. She would just have to control her anger, and make her pigheaded fiancé see her point of view, whether he liked it or not, because in all reality she was the one with the bun in the oven, not him.

Moving around was always a good thing for her. It allowed her to think, it allowed her to put distance between herself and an unwanted object. And at that moment Lucky-I-Know-Everything Spencer was the unwanted object. Moving away from him and around the couch, she busied herself with picking up some of Cameron's stuffed animals. In the process of picking up his gray elephant that he couldn't leave home with out, she regarded Lucky with cool ease, "Lucky, Jax is the father of this child." Before he could interrupt, which she knew he was going to, she hurried on "We were never going to be apart of this child's life. I wasn't supposed to grow attached to her, Courtney and Jax weren't supposed to be in the middle of a divorce, and we were never supposed to _plot_ ways to keep this child away from Jax. Getting married should be about our love, not a quick and painless way to keep this child away from her father! But guess what, things change and I have to do my best to come up with the most reasonable compromise for all of us, because obviously no one else is going to."

Anger was quickly boiling up in the feisty brunette, but Lucky was oblivious to it. It had been a long time since he was on the receiving end of her wrath, and it had been a long time since the Take No Shit Elizabeth came out to play, well half time was over and Elizabeth was suited up and ready to take control.

With the couch separating them Lucky turned to face her head on. "Do you think that I am trying to get you to marry me just to steal Jax's child. I never wanted this in the first place Elizabeth. You were the one who came up with this crazy idea to give Jax and Courtney," placing both hands on his chest and tilting to the side while batting his eye lashes "_the most precious gift in the world._" Straitening, he went on "Well guess what Elizabeth, Jax and Courtney are selfish people and could care less about you or this child. To Courtney, this was her escape to move on to the next man of the hour, and for Jax this is his way to be in control. I am the only one who has thought about you and only you throughout this whole ordeal."

It was really hard for her to hear the rest of his speech. Once he mocked her intentions she couldn't help but tune him out and stare at him with blind furry while the words _asshole, fucking asshole_ ran over and over in her head. He must have been through with his stupid speech because he was staring at her like he expected her to bow down at his feet and claim him King.

Forget that.

She did the only thing that came to her heated mind, the only thing that made logical sense, she took the stuff animal that was held tightly in her grasp, raised it above her head,

And threw it straight at his hard head.

* * *

Sonny was a lost man. His world was turning upside down and there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe this was God's way of punishing him for being such a cold blooded bastard. Maybe this was finally the end to his untouchable existence, the breaking of Sonny Corinthos. Before Jason came into his life he was just starting in this career as the head honcho. He had Luke and Stone, and he thought he had the life. Then Stone died of aids, and he would have sworn at that time he was being punished. Sure Stone was the one whose life had ended, but Sonny was the one who had lost his brother. But all of that changed when he stumbled upon a confused man who just wanted to be left alone. Everyone was trying to make Jason remember being the loving soon to be doctor. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for Sonny, Jason couldn't do that. He couldn't be who they wanted him to be and Sonny saw a lot of himself in Jason at that time. He saw a man with no where to go and had no idea as to where he came from, he saw a lost man and did something that was not very familiar to him.

He reached out and helped him. Sonny gave him a job and brought Jason into his world. There were times that he thought he was a bastard for taking advantage of Jason and exposing him to the mob life. Why did he think it was okay to drag another man into a world that there was no turning away from? He was never allowed to dwell on those thoughts because Jason always reassured him that he wanted this life. To him, Sonny was his savior, he took him from nothingness and gave him life, and Sonny was just that naïve and selfish to believe him.

But now, standing on the docks with the man he knew as his brother, the man who claimed he owed him his life. Sonny knew he had been wrong all those years ago. Jason could have had a better life than the one he offered him. He had been angry at life at the time and didn't know better so he just accepted this life; he learned to live with the danger and the threats and the unachievable dreams, and he settled. No, Sonny knew he was a bastard and deserved all the hell that was going on in his life right now.

This man staring at him with cold blue eyes was not the confused man he met ten years ago. He didn't wake up this time to find out that he was a loved golden boy. He woke up with no memory as to who he was, and found out that he was a cold blooded killer for the Port Charles Mafia. This man standing in front of him was not confused, but disgusted. He was not looking at Sonny for a way of escape; he was looking at him as if he were the devil himself and if you asked the right person, they would agree that Sonny was the devil reincarnated.

But with knowing all of this, knowing that he trapped a man for ten years to a life of nothing, Sonny could not help but be selfish. It was decided years ago that he only did things that benefited him, so why change the stereotype now. He needed Jason, not just to help him with this new situation he found himself in with the Ruiz family, but with making things right again. If there was ever a problem, he knew he could turn to Jason, and he didn't know what else to do.

So when Sam called frantic on the phone, babbling about how Jason was being irrational and wouldn't listen to her. How he seemed to be coming back to her, but then just got up and left, Sonny knew he needed to find his friend. Not just because he needed Jason, but because he was a walking target. He was a man with many enemies and had no clue as to who they were. His intentions were to find Jason and get him out of the open and into a safe place. But once he saw Jason his intentions where thrown out into the harbor. Yes he wanted Jason safe, but he also needed to take care of business. The saying old habits die hard really took on a new meaning with Sonny. Jason was his go to guy, and even though he knew he couldn't remember being a hit man, Sonny still had to try.

"I won't kill for you."

It was a simple statement, one that was said that left room for no arguments, but when did Sonny ever back down?

"I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to realize what type of danger we are in here. You can't remember your life right now," shrugging his shoulders he looked out at the water briefly and then returned his gaze to the ice cold eyes that were staring back, "fine. But let's face it Jason, your life is in danger. People who mean the world to you are targets, and you can't just sit back and let this ride out. Your instincts are still there, you proved that when you took down those men in the clinic."

That image still made his gut twist. He didn't need to be reminded of how easy it was to take down those two men in mere minutes. He didn't need reminding of how he easily held two guns in his hands and shot both men dead without a second thought. Those reminders were what made him know that he couldn't do it again. Not intentionally anyhow.

"Why do you need me? I'm sure you have plenty of other men who would be more then willing to do this for you. Why do…"

"Because you are the only one I trust!"

It was at that moment that Jason felt the depth of his supposed relationship with this Sonny Corinthos. People were telling him that they were best friends, but he just couldn't seem to grasp that concept. How could two men who were in this business be that close? But looking at Sonny, seeing the desperation written in his eyes, Jason just knew. He knew that their friendship meant almost everything to Sonny. It seemed to be killing Sonny that he couldn't remember him, that he couldn't help him with this newest threat. He was really caught between a hard place and a rock. He couldn't kill for this man, he just knew that he would not be able to take another persons life, no matter how evil they were. But then again, he felt like he wanted to help this man standing in front of him. He wanted to reach out and help him. The only question was, how?

Shoulders sagging in defeat Jason looked at the other man with sorry eyes "I just don't think I can help you. I'm sorry." He was about to turn away when a man came waltzing down the steps with cool but angry steps and rounded on Sonny. He looked like he was going to attack him so Jason just reacted.

He grabbed the man by the back of his well pressed shirt, yanked him away from Sonny, and planted himself in between the intruder and Sonny. Stabbing a finger at the tall man he growled, "Back off."

If Sonny weren't so shocked he would have eased Jason's uneasiness, but he stood there for a moment looking at his tense back, wondering if Jason realized what he was doing. When he started to step towards the other man, Sonny decided it was then that he needed to take action.

"Jason, man, its ok, this is Jax, my sister's husband."

"Soon to be ex-husband."

It took a moment for him to realize that he was about to attack this Jax, but once he did, Jason backed off immediately. Disgust was written all over his face. "I'm…I'm sorry." Fuck this sucked.

"Yeah, sure," dismissing Jason with ease, Jasper Jax turned his attention to Sonny. "You know Sonny, I don't know what it is with all of you people, thinking that you can just take what you want with no worries about what it might do to other people. How your selfishness will affect others."

Stepping around Jason who still slightly separated the other two men, Sonny asked with edge in his voice, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and your damn sister. I don't know if you have heard the wonderful news, but not even five months into our marriage and your sister has already found her newest victim."

"Watch it Jax's"

"No! Damn it, I am so sick and tired of you and yours Corinthos. I truly loved Courtney. I saw something in her and I feel madly in love with her. I wanted a family with her, and when she told me she couldn't have kids I didn't turn away from her. I didn't turn my back on her and find the next best thing. No! Instead I did everything in my power to make her happy. She wanted the damn surrogacy just as much as I did and now she is using that as her excuse as to why she cheated on me. Elizabeth is now pregnant with my child and doesn't want to hand over _my_ child because your sister couldn't keep her legs closed. I should have known never to get involved with her. I mean she went from being married to A.J., then minutes later marrying his brother. Only to realize that she couldn't handle the life so she tried her hand in being with that Brian cop guy, only to get yet another divorce and move right on to me."

Once this Australian idiot mentioned Elizabeth, Jason's ears involuntarily perked up. What was it about this nurse that seemed to always catch his interest? She was beautiful, quick witted, and she didn't bug him about things he should be remembering. They obviously had a past that was worth talking about because she told him if he asked she would explain. She didn't just say the simple statement of 'were friends' or anything like that, and she didn't tell him that there wasn't much to explain. They were something to each other, and for the first time he wanted to know what that something was. He never asked Sam or Sonny to explain their relationship, they just did. They let him know what he was to them. But Elizabeth seemed to understand him, it was like she knew he wanted to know, but was still trying to get his bearings and couldn't really handle the information. She trusted him enough to open up her soul and poor out everything that was bothering her, and he tried to do the same until they were interrupted by Sonny.

Now the other man was staring at Jax with blind furry. Jason didn't understand why though. The Aussie had made since when he inadvertently called this Courtney woman a slut.

The woman had, according to Jax, moved on from man to man like they were a new pair of shoes. What kind of man becomes involved with his brother's ex-wife when the ink isn't even dry on the divorce papers yet? It seemed like this Courtney girl had a lot of growing up to do. Jason just felt sorry for any man that was unfortunate enough to be involved with her.

Taking a threatening step towards the Candy boy, Sonny's voice was lethal and deadly, "Look Jax, whatever problems you are having with my sister does not concern me. Courtney is her own person and there is nothing that I can do to help you out."

"Do you not even care that there is an innocent child involved in this. That Elizabeth is now pregnant with a child that was supposed to be your niece or nephew? Or does it not really matter to you? You know, since this child was never really going to be your blood niece, just by name right Sonny? Elizabeth does not need this stress; she doesn't need to worry about whether or not she is going to have to fight for custody. Dr. Meadows already warned her that she needed to keep her blood pressure down. I saw her in the hospital today and she looked completely withdrawn and tired. My child's life is as stake and it is all your sisters fault." With that last statement Jax turned around on his expensive loafers and walked away.

If the world stopped spinning, Sonny was sure that Jax would find someway to make that his fault. The man blamed him for everything. But Sonny knew he was right, Elizabeth was innocent in all of this. She had agreed to the surrogacy out of the goodness of her heart and because of his sister she was now screwed. He felt bad for the young woman. She was finally starting her life over, leaving all the shit that happened to her in the past, well in the past. She was now, finally, out of the world that Sonny and Jason were trapped in. Even when she thought she was moving on when she married his brother Ric, she was stilled sucked back in. She was just trying to do what she did best and take care of the people she loved. She was trying to provide for her family while giving Courtney something that she couldn't have on her own. Sonny had always admired that about Elizabeth. She was one of the most selfless people that he had ever met. He truly did not know how wonderful of a person Elizabeth was until she saved Jason's life. They had grown close during that time and had what he thought was a brother/sister relationship, but just like everything else in his life, that went to hell.

Both he and Elizabeth seemed to have a rough patch for a while during her marriage to Ric. Fortunately for her, she was moving on with her life. For Sonny, it was just getting worse. But no matter how bad he felt for the woman he once considered a sister; he really couldn't do anything to help her. He couldn't turn back the clock and make his slut of a sister not sleep with Nicolas. Hopefully she would figure out what to do, she was smart enough to make this work, and if he knew anything about Elizabeth, it was that she was a very determined tiny woman.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Jason staring at him with open curiosity until he locked eyes with the younger man.

"How do you know Elizabeth?"

Sonny was a bit shocked at the question, but he was going to answer it either way. That was until his phone rang.

"Sorry." Holding up one finger he flipped open his phone and looked at Jason with true regret behind his dark orbs. "Yeah…..Carly? What's wrong?...ok, ok calm down I'll be right there."

Looking at Jason with regret in his eyes Sonny asked, "Can we finish this later? I really need to go to Carly."

With a simple nod of his head Sonny was gone. Jason was left there to wonder what Sonny meant with his last words. He doubted he meant he wanted to finish the conversation about Elizabeth. Jason was sure that Sonny meant that he wanted to finish the conversation they started with. He still wanted Jason to be his enforcer.

But that was a subject that was better left for another time. He had more pressing issues that he needed to take care of. Like going back to the Penthouse and telling Sam the decision that he came to while he was on the docks.

* * *

"Did you….. did you just throw that at me?

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because you were pissing me off and I didn't have anything harder in reach."

Lucky just looked at her like she was a three year old throwing a tantrum. Her arms were crossed under her chest; she wore just simple jeans and a blue tee shirt that brought out the color of her eyes, and her hair was flowing freely around her face. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that moment. But that didn't mean that he wasn't pissed with her. This was their life, and she was just willing to let Jax into it. Not if he had anything to do with it.

Tossing the elephant on the couch, Lucky looked at her with annoyance behind his eyes "Elizabeth, stop acting childish. I'm just trying to get you to see that we don't need Jax in our lives. This child would have a much better life if we were her parents."

So throwing her son's stuffed animal at him wasn't the most mature thing in the world. But God help her the man was infuriating the hell out of her. Dropping her arms to her side and walking back around the couch to be closer to him, she reached out her hand and cupped his jaw, "Lucky, you will be a father to this child, just as you are to Cameron. But I can't keep Jax from his child. How is it his fault that Courtney and Nicolas had an affair? It's not; I can't fault him for leaving Courtney and wanting to raise this child."

Placing his hand over hers Lucky countered "If Jax agrees to this he is going to be using you. He is going to take your trust in him and then find a way to use that against you and take this child. You are to trusting, Jax will use that to manipulate you. He's like that, look what he did with Courtney. The only reason he married her was to get back at Sonny for stealing Brenda."

Dropping her hand from his cheek as if it burned she backed up a few spaces. "I am not that naive Lucky and the world does not revolve around Sonny Corinthos. Jax loved Courtney; she's the one who ruined their marriage by cheating on him." The saying if looks could kill was taking up a new meaning with the way the she was staring at him. If they could kill he would be ripped to shreds with no evidence of his puny existence.

"You used to think otherwise. When you thought I was dead, you turned to Jason and Sonny, and from what Nicolas told me, those two could do no wrong in your eyes. It was only a couple of years ago that you were going to be with Jason. You thought that Jason was the most wonderful and caring person in the world and where did that get you? Married to a man that only married you so that he could stick it to his brother, who is none other than the Sonny Corinthos. For god sake, you trusted a man who kidnapped another woman and put you in the hospital. You put your faith in the wrong people and it always comes back to bite you in the ass. You can be very naïve and I'm just trying to…"

His last words were cut off by what might have been the most beautiful sound to Elizabeth's ears at that moment. The sound of flesh meeting flesh as she slapped him good and hard across his face.

With a deadly voice she stared at him hard and said "Get out."

He was rubbing his sore cheek that was already turning red when he responded "I'm not going anywhere. We need to talk about this."

Moving away from him when he tried to come close to her she turned around and started to walk towards Cameron's room. "I swear to god Lucky if you are not out of here in five seconds I will pack up Cameron's things and we will leave."

He knew that she was not messing around, and he really couldn't let her leave with her, their, son at night. "Fine I'm…I'm going, but I'll be back tomorrow. I'll let you cool off a bit; we both need to cool off a bit." His heart was aching for her, he wanted to reach out and touch her but he knew it was a bad idea. When she saw him moving towards her she adverted her gaze and stepped even further away "Just know that I'm sorry Elizabeth. I was angry and I didn't mean to sound so cruel."

He was walking to the door and stopped dead in his tracks when he heard her hoarse voice say "I don't think you should come back Lucky. Maybe this is not meant to be." And with that she walked into the kitchen to clean up the forgotten tea she had made over an hour ago.

There were tears in his eyes and a hole in his heart when Lucky opened the door and walked out on the only life he knew.

* * *

Jason was not looking forward to this. He wanted to avoid it like people wanted to avoid the plaque. But if he wanted to breathe easily, if he wanted the feeling of wanting to crawl out of his own skin to go away, then he could not avoid this conversation. He had been on the docks just starring out at the water for a long time before Elizabeth showed up. In that time period he had a lot of thoughts running through his head. Most of them were occupied with wondering what the hell he was supposed to do with his life. He didn't want to work for Sonny anymore. Or at least not in the way he used to. He also had to figure out what to do with Sam.

And that was the reason that he was going back to the Penthouse. She was the reason that he was leaving the elevator at Harborview Towers, turning left towards his Penthouse, and taking a deep breath.

The second he opened the door she was right there asking so many questions that his head started to spin. "Whoa, wait a minute." Placing his hands on her shoulders to move her away from him he walked towards the balcony doors. He was starting to feel trapped already and looking out at the harbor below gave him the illusion that he was outside. It would be easier to have this conversation if he didn't have to look at her.

"What's wrong Jason? You left hours ago, and now you seem all tense." She was worried about him. When she called Sonny, he not so subtlety told her that Jason should not be out in the open because it was dangerous, he promised that he would look for him and call her. Well, that was hours ago and Sonny never called. She stayed at home pacing around waiting for Jason to either come home, or for Sonny to call.

Now that he was home she didn't know if that was a good thing. Sam thought that if anyone could get through to Jason, it would be either her or Sonny. She would rather it be her, but right now she could not be choosy.

He was staring off into the harbor when he interrupted her thoughts. "I need to take control of my life."

"That's good, let me help you, we could…."

When he turned to stare at her, she new that she should let him finish, apparently this new Jason did not like being interrupted.

He turned his attention back to the harbor and continued, "I can't depend on other people to take care of me. I may never remember a thing about my old life, my life with you, and I can't continue to live like this. I can't..." with a heavy sigh he turned to look at her "I can't explain it, but I need to be on my own. So I am going to move out."

"What? No Jason you can't!"

She was moving towards him and he knew that he just had to move away. He didn't know a lot of things right now, but he knew that he did not want her to touch him. She stopped dead in her tracks when he started to back away. She was loosing him and she knew it, but right now there was nothing she could do about it. She heard about what happened when he lost his memory ten years ago. Everyone was always trying to make him be like the way he was and that just made him retreat further away until they lost him for good. Sonny told her she needed to back down, not be so aggressive, so she knew what she had to do.

"Fine you… you can move out." Tears were easily streaming down her face. She used her hands to wipe them away and gestured to him "Just please don't shut me out completely. That's all I ask."

He didn't reassure her, because he really didn't know if he could. He just glanced at her and then turned to walk upstairs. "I'm just going to go pack," and with that he disappeared upstairs.

She couldn't stay there and watch him leave. She had to get out of there before he came back downstairs. If she had to watch him leave she would break down right in front of him and her whole plan would be ruined. She couldn't do that so she decided to leave first. As she walked out the door she looked back at their home and made a vow that Jason Morgan would not leave her life, she would make sure of it.

* * *

Lucky Spencer looked like someone just told him his life was over. He looked pitiful sitting at the counter of the River Rat drinking his fourth beer in one hour. He was so lost in his self pity that he didn't even blink when someone sat down right next to him. He didn't even acknowledge this persons presence until she spoke.

"Fancy meeting you here."

When he looked to his right, he was met with the eyes of someone who looked just as run down as he did.

Sam McCall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Being pregnant, alone, wide awake, upset and hungry at three o'clock in the morning was not a go

od combination. Not only was she depressed, but Elizabeth was in desperate need of some Reese's peanut butter cups, or maybe even some cotton candy. The man that she was in love with had walked out of their house, maybe even her life, hours ago. He had berated her, called her naïve, and made her feel like she was nothing. He made her feel like she had to second guess every choice that she had ever made in her short life. 

So not only was she sitting on the couch eating peanut butter crackers with chocolate sauce covering them since there was not a _single_ peanut butter cup in the whole damn apartment, but she was also reviewing her life. If she wasn't depressed before when Lucky not so nicely pointed out everything that she had done wrong, she was sure as hell depressed now.

But even as she sat there, eating the best concoction that she could come up with to satisfy her cravings, she couldn't help but regret her parting words to Lucky. Not only had she acted like a child and threw her sons elephant at her fiancés head, but she then proceeded to slap him hard across the face, and then kicked him out on the street. It wasn't like he didn't deserve everything that she had sent his way, but maybe she reacted to soon. To tell him that maybe they weren't meant to be might have been a little extreme. But what the hell could he expect from a hormonal pregnant woman who was having the most bizarre cravings.

She missed him. It had only been a couple of hours, but the thought of not waking up with him in the morning was really starting to make her sink deeper and deeper in her regret. Sure she was still pissed at him, he had no right to even utter anything that he had no clue about, but he had apologized. It would take a whole lot more to make up for what he said, but she would make sure that she saw him tomorrow to tell him that. She would let him know that he could not speak to her in that manner, but she couldn't loose him. They had been through so much and she couldn't let this surrogacy get in the way.

Tomorrow was another day.

* * *

"You….juno wha really sucksssssssssssssssssss?"

"What?"

"She… she said we…we weren't meant to beeee. Like all thizzz crap…... ah hell I fuckings forgot where I was going with thizz."

A bottle of Tequila, eight beers split two ways, and three hours later, Lucky and Sam sat in the almost empty bar drowning in their sorrows. Both were two lovers scorned. They had put their complete love into their significant others, and in return they were pushed aside like a rotted piece of meat that was in desperate need of being thrown away. Lucky had been trying to get Elizabeth to realize she couldn't trust Jax, and Sam was trying to make Jason see that they were meant for each other. And instead of being with their loved ones, they were sitting in the corner of the dirty bar River Rat, and sharing in their pity party.

Holding his head up with his hand that was being supported by the table, Lucky stared intently at the half full beer bottle that he held in his other hand "Fuck, I really forgot wat I wazz sayin." There was no way that he was going to be able to perform the task of holding his head up long enough to drink from his bottle.

"Som… some….s-ome-th-ing about not being mean to each other…no… meant. Yeah! Not meant for together." Talking was really starting to become a major chore for Sam. Her words were slurring together, and she wasn't making any sense. But that was OK, because Lucky was making about as much sense as she was.

Neither one of them could hold themselves up properly. They were both leaning heavily on the table which was also occupied by an empty bottle, two shot glasses, and a crap load of empty beer bottles. They were situated at a small table that was settled in the corner of the bar. The table was so small that it made it impossible for the two of them to avoid any type of contact. Every once in awhile she would move her hand just so, and it would make contact with his rough cheek. They even brushed their noses twice during the encounter.

Confusion was making Lucky's eyebrows lower and his head spin even more. "What?" He looked up just at that moment. He had been staring so hard at his bottle, trying to figure out how to get it to his mouth that he forgot about his companion. But once he looked up and glossy eyes locked with glossy eyes, all thoughts of drinking anything were forgotten. They were mere inches apart, and it would only take one slight move from either one of them and contact would be made.

He couldn't tell who made the first move, but one second his drooping eyes were staring into her equally glossy drunken ones, and the next he and Sam were engaging in a serious lip lock. The table between them was really starting to make for an unwanted obstacle and the need for air was quickly growing making the two of them break apart.

"Want to get out of here?"

She didn't need to say anything else because Lucky was already stumbling out of his seat and reaching for her when she was finished with the question.

* * *

No matter how many times her grandmother got on her last nerve, Elizabeth was really fortunate when it came to Audrey. They had their fair share of disagreements, but in the end there was truly nothing that could break the bond that they formed many years ago. Many things have tested their relationship, but in the end Elizabeth could always count on her Grandmother. Even if the older woman needed to learn how to not be so uptight sometimes. But it was in times like these that Elizabeth was grateful that the much older woman loved her and Cameron so much. She really needed to do damage control with Lucky and she didn't want Cameron there with her. She still felt a little uneasy about the whole situation and she did not want him to pick up on the tension that was evident between her and Lucky.

So when she called her Grandmother at nine o'clock in the morning to ask if she could watch Cameron because she needed to run a few errands, Audrey simply stated that she was "more than happy to spend some more time with her great grandson." Elizabeth should have known better than to expect it to be that easy though. She should have known that she wouldn't have been able to drop Cameron off with a quick kiss to the cheek and then walk away. No, her dear ole Grams needed to know what errands she was running and how long she thought it would take. It wasn't like she _needed _to know, but it was information that would be _nice_ to know. What should have been a five minute trip ended in a half hour session of Elizabeth telling her Grams everything that was going wrong in her life. As she left the house, the only issue that was resolved between the two women was that Elizabeth needed to talk to Lucky and get him back. As if she didn't already know that.

She really didn't know where to find him, but her best bet was that he had went back to his old room above Kelly's, and that was exactly where she was headed when an unknown voice that was thick with a Spanish accent called out to her as she walked along the docks.

"Miss Webber, could I speak to you for a moment?"

Out of pure recognition to her name she turned around and came face to face with a man that she knew was trouble.

Manny Ruiz stood in front of here with a white button down sleeveless t-shirt with nothing underneath. The thinness of it made all of his useless tattoos that much more visible. His arms and chest were covered in what looked like one continuing portrait, and she was sure that if his legs weren't covered in his black slacks she would be able to see two legs covered in just as much ink.

He was an intimidating man. Even though he only stood a few inches taller than she did, he stood tall and with so much arrogance, that if he weren't a well known mobster she would have rolled her eyes at him and walked away. But if she had only learned one thing while she was with Jason, it was to never turn your back on a dangerous man. But, of course, she had learned a lot more than that.

He was staring at her with some type of sick smirk on his face that it made her skin crawl. She really did not want to stay around and listen to this man, but out of pure fear she was rooted to her spot.

Apparently, like a tiger stalking its prey, he could smell the fear radiating off of her. If Elizabeth didn't know any better, she could have sworn that his nostrils flared with excitement with his newly found knowledge.

"There's no need to fear me Miss Webber, I just have a message that I need you to pass on to your little boyfriend Lucky." His plan was to make the little woman scared, so scared that she would run off to her little boyfriend and tell him all about her little "encounter" with the brother of the man he had shot. By the size of her big, beautiful, midnight blue orbs, Ruiz figured his plan was working.

She realized that she was staring at him for awhile, and had yet to utter two words to the mobster. But quite frankly, at the moment, she could not think of anything to say. Her time as a frozen statue was quickly over once she regained herself. Lifting her chin, hoping that her hands weren't shaking too bad, Elizabeth promptly turned on her stark white sketchers and announced, "Anything that you have to discuss with Lucky, take it up with him."

She wasn't able to move very far though, because all of a sudden a very tan and ink filled hand latched itself to her upper arm, burning through her green cardigan.

"Not so fast Miss Webber, I think it's very important that _you _are the one to make sure Officer Spencer gets this vital information." Spinning her around and pulling her close to his body, he dipped his head down and took a whiff of her soft, sweet hair. "Got it?"

She was trembling with fear and wanted nothing more than to run away, but Elizabeth was a fighter, and she would make sure that this man knew not to expect anything less from her. "Get your hands off of me, or so help me I'll…"

"You'll what? Scream?"

There was no time for her to reply to his snide remarks, because as soon as he spoke the words to her he was being ripped away from her. One second she was being held in a death grip, and the next the man was down on his knees while Jason Morgan held him in a chock lock. That always seemed to be his favorite position while holding off the enemy.

"Are you ok?"

The man was holding down another man who had just moment ago inadvertently threatened her life, and Jason was looking at her with kind concerned eyes. "Yeah… yeah I guess so."

"_What the hell is wrong with you, huh? How stupid are you? Elizabeth, leave."_

"_No."_

"_Elizabeth, I said go."_

"_I'm not leaving. What if someone sees you? You could get arrested."_

"Jason? Jason, are you okay?" One moment he was holding Manny Ruiz so hard that the other mans face us turning a unique shade of purple, and the next he was holding his head as if he were experiencing the most server migraine. So distracted was he by this new found pain that he didn't realize his hold on Ruiz was slipping. The other man would have gotten away if Elizabeth wouldn't have brought him back to reality.

Releasing his hold on Ruiz, Jason all but shoved the man up the stairs in a blatant effort to let the man know that this meeting was over.

Ruiz was not expecting this unwanted distraction, but he knew better when his time was up. Instead of fighting with the amnesiac ex-enforcer, he allowed Jason to shove him up the stairs with little effort on either side.

"_Are you OK?"_

"_Is that the guy who shot you?"_

"_It was him or one of his men. He was also the guy who put the bomb in your apartment. Why didn't you leave when I told you to leave?"_

He didn't know how she managed it, but once the pain started to decrease he realized that he was now sitting down on a bench and Elizabeth was on her knees by his side holding his face between the palms of her hands looking with concern into his eyes.

"How bad is the pain?"

"I… I don't know."

"On a scale of one to ten, what would you say it ranks?"

"Twelve."

She was still holding his face between her hands and looking straight into his baby blues. Even though he answered her with a bit of light humor, she was still extremely worried about him and wanted to make sure he was ok.

"OK, we need to get you to the hospital, come on lets go." Her demand was motherly and cute, but that still didn't make Jason follow. Instead of following her lead when she started to get up, he grab her arm with light force and held her in place.

"No, I don't need to go to the Hospital."

Making a sad sound and allowing him to pull her back down to a sitting position, Elizabeth regarded him with patience because she all but knew how much this man despised hospitals, even if he couldn't remember why. "Jason, you just experienced a very severe headache, the hospital needs to keep record of every time you experience one, how bad they were, what might have triggered it…."

"It happens when I remember something." He could tell that he shocked her. No one knew that he remembered anything. It was only a couple of days ago that he had a flash of holding Sam's dead baby but he still decided to with hold that information from everyone. Almost everyone expected him to remember something and they all had a look of hope in their eyes when they regarded him. He just knew that the moment he would tell anyone, especially Sam, that he remembered something; they would jump on him like fresh meat on the end of a hook in a sea of hungry sharks. Sam already expected so much from him, if he told her than her hope for him to remember anything else would just sky rocket, and he really did not have the patience to deal with that.

"You remembered something?"

"Yeah, a couple of days ago…and just now."

Instead of grilling him about what he remembered, or asking if it was about her, she just looked at him with kind blue eyes that he knew he could get lost in. "And when you remember that's when your headaches appear."

It wasn't a question, but he treated it like one anyway. "Yeah."

"Jason, I don't want to nag you or anything, but being your nurse and all I really think we should get you to the hospital and in to see Tony." She wasn't badgering him, and she was far from annoying him, but he had other ideas of what he wanted to do in that moment, and going to the hospital to see his doctor was far from his mind.

"I have another appointment in a couple of days I can tell him then." He saw that she was about to protest so he had to act fast, "I remembered something about you."

His ability to shock her was growing tremendously during their unintentional meeting on the docks. Out of all the things he could have remembered, he remembered something about her. She didn't know if she should be excited about the newly found information or nervous. What if he remembered her holding a gun on him? Oh that would just be fantastic, the man seemed to trust her in someway and he could possibly remember one of the worst times in their relationship. Or what if he remembered………

"There was some guy talking to you and….. and I just attacked him and took him down just like I did to Ruiz. You were a lot younger, you hair was different, and I told you to leave but you wouldn't. I can remember not wanting you to see me like that…." He could sense the reluctance in her when he first made his blunt announcement, but once he started he couldn't help but let the confusion set in. Elizabeth was his nurse but she had told him that they were friends, and yesterday she had regarded Sonny as an old, yet uncomfortable, friend. His memory that had just popped out of nowhere was of her and he was scared for her. He even mentioned something about a bomb in her apartment. Was Elizabeth somehow apart of the life that he was trying to get out of? He also could not help but become bemused about the feelings he could remember having during the flashback. Elizabeth meant a great deal to him, it was obvious by the feelings that surged through him when he had this recent memory flash.

He also could not help but wonder if she were so important to him then why did it take almost a month after he lost his memory for him to find out about her? More importantly, why would he remember her and not Sam, the supposed love of his life?

The instant he began to repeat his flashback, she knew what he was referring to. Although that encounter started out horribly with Sorel approaching her, the night ended like many other nights that winter. It ended with the both of them on his bike losing themselves in the wind and in each other. He, of course, ended up sitting behind her letting her steer.

They sat in silence for awhile, both mulling over in their own thoughts until Jason broke the silence, "I'd really like to know about us. I mean our history, how we know each other."

All thoughts of finding Lucky and apologizing for acting like the hormonal pregnant woman she was were nowhere to be found. The moment that Jason appeared out of the shadows of the docks and into the shinning sun, once again saving her from a threatening mobster, her entire focus was enveloped with him. He remembered something, not just anything but something about her, and now he wanted to know more. She wanted to tell him everything he wanted to know, even though she was still a little nervous about recalling the most complicated relationship that she had ever had the pleasure of being apart of.

The morning started out with clear skies and the shinning sun, but it was quickly turning into darkness due to an upcoming unexpected storm. Looking up towards the sky that was quickly lighting up with bright flashes, Elizabeth decided that the conversation would be better held under the safety of a roof, "Maybe we could go to Kelly's for something to eat and finish this conversation, it looks like it's going to pour any minute."

"Sure." He really didn't care where they had the conversation, just as long as he could get some insight as to way this beautiful brunette seemed to work herself into his mind.

As they stood up and proceeded in the direction of Kelly's, Elizabeth could not shake the feeling that the impending storm was just foreshadowing something that was bigger, something that would change her life.

* * *

The sound of thunder rolling through the morning sky was the only thing that was able to stir the living dead that occupied Lucky Spencer's room above Kelly's. His attempt to roll onto his side to check the time was stopped short when the additional weight of the person on top of him caught his attention. The look of total shock and confusion was evident on Lucky's face as he tried to recall the previous night and why someone other than his fiancé was sprawled out naked on top of him. Just as he was about to reach out and remove the curtain of hair that concealed his bedmates identity, the naked woman started to stir. The pounding in his head due to his hangover was joined by an ache in his lungs as Lucky held his breathe in waiting.

Wiping the drool from her mouth as she slowly raised herself onto her hands, Sam tried to gather her bearings. It was not until she looked into the face of the man that she was currently fully on top of that she realized she fucked up. They looked into each others eyes for what seemed like eternity both trying to get up to date with the events that had occurred the night before.

They both might have been completely out of their minds the night before, but there was no doubt that they had slept together. The fact that they were both naked and wrapped up in each other might have been their first clue, but to no ones permission the night slowly crept up into both their memories. It was as if they both remembered drinking at the bar and then going to his place afterwards to have the drunken sloppy sex at the same time. Like reacting to being burned by scolding hot liquid, both Lucky and Sam disentangled themselves from each other grabbing the blanket to cover their naked bodies with as they jumped to stand at opposite sides of the bed. The tug of war match that was going on with the blanket was starting to grow old so Lucky quickly let go only to reach for the sheet instead.

"This can't be happening. What the hell was I thinking?"

If he weren't thinking the same things Lucky might have been a little offended by her last comment, but looking over at her he couldn't help but wonder the same damn thing. What the hell was he thinking? "We weren't thinking. We were drunk and this was a mistake."

Stopping herself in the middle of her pacing Sam turned to face Lucky and decided to skip the regrets and get right down to business, "No one can know about this, this should have never happened, and it will never happen again."

He had to roll his eyes at her demand. She was pointing a finger at him as if scolding him that he could never touch the forbidden fruit. If the situation weren't so messed up he would set her straight by letting her know that she was way to into herself, and he would have no problem never going near her again. But he was more worried about getting her out of there rather than deflating her ego.

She continued on ignoring his rude jester "I am going to leave here and no one is ever going to know about this. I have worked way too hard to be with the man that I love for this… this one night stand to ruin it. Got it?"

"Yeah whatever you say, it never happened. Trust me I don't want the whole town to know that I was just another notch on the Samantha McCall bedpost." He just couldn't help that last jab at her image as just another Port Charles citizen that jumps from bed to bed. "Now will you get dressed so you can go? I don't want anyone to know about this anymore than you do. If you haven't noticed I have a fiancé that I love more than anything and I have to make things work with her, I don't need you messing that up."

"Oh, I know all about your wonderful Elizabeth, she's all that you could talk about last night. Don't worry, this mistake will never be known by anyone but you and me."

The growing need to run to a bathroom and relieve her rolling stomach was slowing her process down a bit, but somehow she managed to get dressed and make it to the door.

"Hold on, I'll go with you. I want to sneak you out of here with as little suspension as possible. It's still early so no one should be here yet but I still want to check."

Rolling her eyes and looking at him impatiently, Sam followed Lucky out the door and towards the front entrance of the diner. If either of them would have taken the time to look at the clock, they would have realized that Kelly's had been opened for a couple of hours and the only way to leave with out anyone noticing would have been through the back way.

But, unfortunately for them, neither bothered to look at the time and realize that they were about to be screwed.

As he walked down the hall towards the stairs Lucky did not register the sound of clashing silverware or the noise of silent chatter. His head was pounding as the little men with jackhammers drilled into his skull and his stomach was turning with the raw guilt of cheating on Elizabeth. As he descended the first couple of steps and looked up it was too late. He saw that the room was flooded with the afternoon rush and as he looked to see who entered the diner at the sound of the bell, his eyes locked with blue eyes that were all too familiar with him. There was no turning around now.

As Elizabeth and Jason entered the diner her eyes were immediately drawn to the stairs. As their eyes locked it was then that Elizabeth's heart stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There he was, standing in the middle of the stair case looking at her as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. When she had left that morning her intent was to find him and make everything right again. She left her Grams with a one tracked mind. Find Lucky, tell him that he was a schmuck the night before, but let him know that there was no way in hell she was going to let him leave her life, even if she was the one to tell him to go and never come back.

Yet, instead of going to Kelly's because she wanted to see Lucky, she was there to help another man who had one time been very important to her. She lost track of her early morning mission because she was distracted by a man who had not been in her life for months, maybe even a year. Jason had saved her from Manny that morning and with that he remembered a very similar encounter that happened years ago. Over five years ago to be exact. His condition was very abnormal to say the least. The man had taken an experimental drug in order to make him remember the time he woke up a different man over ten years ago. His headaches, according to him, were extremely painful and occurred when he remembered something.

It was the least that she could do as his nurse to make sure he was ok. Everything else, recalling their history and spending an afternoon having lunch with him, she was doing because she still considered him a friend.

But now, standing like a frozen block of concrete in the entrance of Kelly's diner looking into the guilty face of the man she loved, all of the hurt that had surfaced the night before came rushing back. It wasn't until Jason softly spoke her name that Elizabeth pried her eyes away from the man on the stairs and focused her attention on Jason.

Giving enough of a window for Lucky to turn to Sam and hopefully get her out before Elizabeth and Jason saw her, assuming that they hadn't already.

Turning his head just the slightest, Lucky regarded Sam on a harsh whisper, "Turn around and go out the back way."

Trying to peer over his shoulder to see what the problem was Sam asked "Why? Is someone down there?"

Attempting to push her back without catching too much attention form the occupants below, Lucky rolled his eyes as if he were dealing with a thirteen year old school girl "It's later than we thought and Elizabeth and Jason are down there."

"What? Jason's there? Is he with Elizabeth?"

Growing exasperated with the mouthy woman already, Lucky was ready to snap "I guess, they just walked in. Now would you go before someone sees you?"

Wanting to see Jason but knowing that it was not the right time Sam hesitantly backed away, disappointed that she didn't get a glimpse of the man she was head over heels in love with. It was just too bad he forgot about their love, but it would all be over soon. She would have Jason back in her life and she would make it her personal goal to keep Elizabeth Webber away from him. As she walked down the stairs to the back alley of Kelly's, she couldn't help but wonder what Jason was doing with Elizabeth in the first place.

* * *

"Elizabeth? Are you ok?" His forehead was creased in a frown, his eyes were trained on her ghostly white face, and his hand was resting high on her back. From the moment that they had walked into Kelly's she had stopped dead in her tracks and her gaze was fixated on the staircase. If it weren't for his position of being half way in and half way out the door, Jason might have been able to see what she was looking at. Not knowing what else to do, he just decided to ask.

Looking away from Lucky, Elizabeth then realized that she was blocking the entrance into Kelly's. Shaking herself out of her trance she turned to look at Jason and noticed his concerned features. "Yeah….no, yeah I'm fine. Sorry I just saw someone that I wasn't expecting to see, though I should have been expecting to see him. I'm still a little confused about that part." She rambled on with a confused laugh. What she was rambling about he didn't know, but it was something or someone that made her eyes slightly dim.

Nodding his head, he steered her towards the table by the counter while she continued on with her babbling. "I was coming here to see Lucky but then I forgot about all of that when the guy Manny approached me on the docks, and then you had your headache." Sighing and closing her eyes as they stopped in front of the table she continued, "I completely forgot about what I was supposed to do, and now he's here and I have to talk to him. But I told you that we would talk…"

Sensing her dilemma Jason cut her off "It's…it's ok, you were coming her to talk to…" trying to remember the name of the other man Jason paused only to recall his name "Lucky. I'll just grab some coffee and then maybe we can talk later."

Looking at him with regret behind her expressional blue eyes she returned, "I don't know how long this will take, but I do have the whole day off. So maybe later this afternoon we can talk, I'm still a little worried about your headaches."

His lips involuntarily turned into a small grin, "You don't have to worry, but yes later we can talk. I have to take care of a few things but I should be home early tonight."

"Ok, then I'll call you at your penthouse…"

"No, I don't…" turning his head to the right ever so slightly he looked down and then met her confused eyes head on again "I don't live there anymore, I'm renting a room above a bar named Jakes."

A hint of a smile played across Elizabeth's mouth. She didn't know what brought on this excitement that started to build up low in her stomach, but she couldn't help it from showing a little behind her smile. Before they could continue on with their conversation Lucky showed up. It was the second time that day that she had forgotten about her fiancé because of Jason. What confused her most was that she had just been talking about him seconds before. The anticipation and excitement of seeing Jason and Jakes again distracted her for a moment. She also couldn't help but wonder what took him so long to come downstairs.

"Elizabeth, I didn't expect to see you here." Lucky hesitantly approached the table where they were standing in front of. He still didn't know if she had seen him with Sam. When she turned to look at him, it was then that he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn't seen Sam standing behind him on the stairs, they were safe.

For now.

"Lucky, hey. I actually came to see you." It was an awkward situation that they were in, but for the sake of everyone she put on her fake-everything is fine- smile as Lucky approached. He didn't seem to notice the fake sincerity that was behind it, but Jason did.

"With Jason?" And the smile vanished.

What brought that on was lost on Lucky. He should have never said it and he should have never spoken it as harsh as he did. The whole surrogacy thing had already made him feel inferior, but bringing Jason into the mix just opened up old wounds. Old wounds that he knew shouldn't be a problem, but old habits die hard.

She caught the accusing tone behind Lucky's question but chose to ignore it. By the looks of him he had one hell of a night after he left and she just wanted it to be over.

"Jason, this is Lucky. You two sort of….. know each other."

He didn't like him already. Jason didn't know why, but the second he laid eyes on this Lucky, he knew he didn't like him. It was just something about him that made Jason want to hit him. His instincts were confirmed when the prick spoke and treated Elizabeth like a teenager late for curfew. There went his idea of trying to live a non-violent life. One look at the man, and Jason wished they weren't standing in the middle of a diner. He wished they were in the back alley.

Neither one of them made any move to greet the other; they just stared at the other waiting for one to back down. Elizabeth could feel the tension building and wanted nothing more than to break the ice. She was trying to come up with something quick but was relieved when Lucky finally looked away.

Once the other man looked away Jason used that as his opportunity to say goodbye to Elizabeth. "I'll see you later."

Being the only one in that conversation to realize the meaning behind those words she chose to not let on to the significance and returned his goodbye, "Yeah, I'll see you later."

Once Jason turned around and was out the door Elizabeth was stopped in the midst of sitting down when Lucky spoke. "What the hell was that about?"

* * *

She knew that she should have left the second that she exited the back way, but she couldn't help herself. Jason was inside. Not only was he inside, but he was there with another woman, a woman who had once been a very good friend to him. Sam wasn't around during the time that Elizabeth and Jason were "together," but she knew enough to know that the other woman was not a threat. She knew that they were friends and that they tried to be something more, but little Miss Elizabeth couldn't handle the life. Not like she could, no one could handle being with Jason Morgan like Sam McCall could.

That thought brought a smile to her face as she waited in the shadows in the courtyard of Kelly's. When Sam came outside she quickly ran to the front of the building to peer through the window and see what was going on. When she approached the window she could tell that Jason was about to leave Elizabeth and Lucky and come outside, the only thing that was left to do was for to wait and "accidentally" bump into him once he exited the building.

Waiting behind the bush that served as her hiding spot, Sam couldn't help but mull over the fact that she was perfect for Jason. No other woman had ever survived being with him as long as she had. Her relationship with Jason was like none other, they were meant for each other. Sam knew that for sure. The little fact that Jason couldn't remember anything about her just yet was an insignificant fact to Sam. It was a little crack in their perfect love that would just need some plaster to patch up. All Sam had to do was spend as much time with Jason and make him remember her and then everything would be perfect again.

She just had to make sure that she made Jason remember her and their relationship. She made a vow to herself that she would do anything to make that happen. Sam had worked to hard to get where she was already, and nothing would take that away from her.

Sam saw him walk out of the diner and turn in the opposite direction from where she was hiding. She had to think fast in order to gain his attention and so she did. Making a very loud yelping noise, Sam pushed herself from behind the bush and fell down to her hands and knees, acting as if she tripped.

Turning around at the noise Jason saw the woman on the floor and rushed over to help her. Once her neared, the combination of alcohol and body odor consumed him. Holding his breath and grabbing onto her arms to hoist her up he asked "Are you alright?"

Unmindful of the fact that she smelt like a dirty old bar and a sweaty hooker that had just finished with a client, Sam raised her head as Jason helped her to her feet. Standing now she grabbed onto his arm. Once he realized it was her he started to back away, in order to gain distance from her, but her grip on his arm stopped him.

Faking complete shock, Sam tried to make eye contact "Jason. Hi, how are you?" Her hand was slowly rising up from his forearm to his bicep to gain intimate access which broke once he decided to move away from her once again.

"Fine."

Her hand dropped to her side showing her disappointment, hoping to gain some sympathy from him, but he just stood there with his hands in his pockets looking at her with nothing on his face. No emotion, no recognition, just nothing, he looked as if he didn't even want to be there.

"Oh, well that's good. Where are you staying? I didn't get a chance to ask you last night. If you noticed, I left before you did. I just couldn't be there when you left, it would have been too hard-"

Cutting her off, Jason shook his head slightly and started to retreat, "I didn't notice. I have to go." And with that he continued on with his excursion in the same direction that he started moments before.

Leaving a shocked and pissed off Sam standing alone.

* * *

Plopping down hard in her seat, Elizabeth chose to show her frustration with the bull headed imbecile standing in front of her with what looked like anger mixed in with jealously written clear across his face. Choosing to ignore the little voice in her head that whispered in her ear that Lucky really needed to grow up, she motioned for him to sit down, there was no way she was going to get a stiff neck from having to look up at him during this conversation.

She hadn't answered his question yet and he could have stood there for several more minutes with his arms crossed over his chest trying to look intimidating, but he decided to sit down anyway. "Are you going to tell me why you showed up here with Jason?"

Elizabeth had to remind herself that this was Lucky, her fiancé, and that she loved him very deeply. The reminder made her stay calm and decide to move this subject along so that they could talk about the night before. She also had to add into her mental cool down that stress was not good for the baby she was carrying. "Lucky," sighing and closing her eyes for a moment Elizabeth had to regain herself yet again "I ran into Jason on the docks and we decided to come here for lunch. Actually I was on my way here to see you; we need to talk about last night." There was so much that needed to be discussed between the two that Elizabeth really didn't want to waste any of it fighting about her rebirth of a friendship with Jason, or the fact that she was threatened by a very lethal man. She would just have to calmly mention the not so verbal threat from the mobster to Lucky a little bit later. Now was the time to remove the temporary wedge that found itself stuck between the two.

"Yeah, we do need to talk about last night. Listen, I'm really sorry that I said those things to you. This whole surrogacy arrangement has just seemed to bring out the worst in me and I have been acting very possessive over you. You know that I love you more than anything and I wouldn't be able to live without you. You're my everything Elizabeth. I would never do anything to ruin what we have, not on purpose anyway." Like sleeping with Sam, it was completely unintentional and he wasn't in the right frame of mind. Lucky knew that Elizabeth could never find out. If she did, than there relationship would be over for good.

Touched by his words but a little thrown off by his last statement, Elizabeth moved her hand to rest on top of his tightly clasped ones that were resting on the table top. His hands felt cold and clammy underneath hers as she gently stoked them with her thumb. "I believe that you are sorry. You really hurt me last night with everything that you said. You took regrets from my past and used them against me-"

"I know and….. Sorry go on." One stern look from her and Lucky knew that he needed to let her finish.

"But I know all of that was said in the heat of the moment. If we are going to make this work, make a marriage work than we have to let go of our childish tendencies." Giving a little chuckle that held her embarrassment Elizabeth continued "and throwing Cameron's stuffed elephant at you was defiantly childish of me and I'm sorry. I love you too Lucky and I want you to come home to me and Cameron. My hormones get a little ahead of me sometimes and I tend to lash out." She was looking at him with complete love behind her eyes and a small smile making an appearance on her face and Lucky felt like a complete heel. Elizabeth never seized to amaze him with her ability to love him so deeply and Lucky realized that he really didn't deserve her love. Even with his knowledge of not being worthy he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. Elizabeth was his forever and he wasn't about to let her go, even if he felt like slime for cheating on her.

Looking around to see if any of the waitresses were going to serve them Elizabeth broke contact with his hands. Looking back at him she asked "So what did you do last night after you left?"

"Oh… Nothing, I just came here and told Mike I was going to be renting my old room, but he told me someone else was already renting it so I had to take a room that was just recently vacated. Then I just stayed in my room missing you and I started to think."

"About?"

"The surrogacy." He could see her demeanor of being happy again start to fall so he had to quickly reassure her before she pulled away. "Even though I don't like Jax, I think that shared custody would be the best idea."

The smile that appeared on her face was enough to make Lucky pat himself on the back for his quick thinking. He wasn't about to tell her about going to the River Rat to get filthy drunk, and he was definitely not going to tell her about the events that followed. He hadn't really thought much about the custody arrangement but right now he just had to think about keeping Elizabeth happy. If he had to, Lucky would find another way later on to make sure Jax had no part of the child's life, but for now he would deal with shared custody.

"Really? You want to share custody with Jax?"

"Yeah, I mean I had a lot of time to think about it last night and I realized that nothing good could come out of fighting with Jax for custody once the child is born. It's going to take some getting used to, but we've been through worse right?" The lie was getting easier and easier for him to maintain control over. He didn't like lying to her, but right now it was necessary.

Elizabeth couldn't get over the fact that Lucky was truly an amazing man. He never wanted the surrogacy in the first place, but he was willing to compromise with Jax in order to make everyone's lives that much easier. She only hoped that Jax would be as willing to share custody as they were. "Do you have to work today or can you stay for lunch?"

"I actually have to leave. I have to go back to the apartment and shower and get ready to go down to the station. Jesse and I are going down to the campus to talk to some of the students about this stalker issue and then I have to talk to Mac about my testifying in Tito's trial."

The mention of Tito's name sparked Elizabeth's memory with the fact that Manny, his brother, had harassed her that morning. She was about to talk to Lucky about it but he was quickly getting up from the table and kissing her on the forehead before retreating from Kelly's on his way to their apartment. As he walked out the door she was struck with the fact that he smelled like alcohol and a fragrance that she was not accustomed to. As she reached into her purse to retrieve her cell phone she wondered why Lucky had smelt like a cheap perfume that she wouldn't be caught dead wearing. The best excuse she could come up with as she dialed the phone number she knew by heart was that the smell must have come from the person who stayed in that room before Lucky. Mike must not have gotten around to changing the sheets before Lucky took over the room.

The thought made her cringe with disgust but was forgotten once the man on the other end answered. "Jax, hi, it's Elizabeth."

* * *

He just couldn't get a fucking break from her. Every time he turned around there she was, looking at him, touching him, annoying the hell out of him. He couldn't go to his weekly treatments without her right there; he couldn't go to Kelly's to get some damn coffee without her somehow showing up. That wouldn't have annoyed him so much if she would have just left it at that, but she couldn't. He thought he made it clear the hundred times he told her he couldn't remember her, but she still nagged him. He thought that his many attempts to back away from her showing his discomfort in her touching him would give her a hint to stop touching him, but it hadn't. This final attempt to make her back off didn't seem to help at all either. He hoped by moving out she would have realized that he didn't want to be with her, that he just wanted to be left alone and start his life again, but again that was another failed attempt. The moment Sam saw him in the courtyard she began with her interrogation. Jason could only hope that Jake's was not a bar she went to.

As he walked to his desired location he couldn't help but walk with annoyed and angry steps. When he walked downstairs the night before with his duffel bag in his hands containing solid color shirts, jeans, bathroom essentials, and a leather jacket he couldn't help but feel relived. Once he reached the door to leave he had turned to look back at the place he called "home." It didn't feel right; he didn't feel right staying there. Jason couldn't help but feel like he didn't belong in a penthouse. He didn't like the penthouse, not to live in anyway. When he reached Jake's later that night, he felt right there. The room was small but it wasn't like he had a lot of stuff anyway. Jake's felt like a place he belonged at. All he really needed was a place to keep his stuff and a bed to sleep in; all the other stuff seemed to be useless to him. Although, he did have to admit, the pool table in the dining room seemed to call out to him, but Jakes had pool tables also, and Jason made a note to try it out sometime. He didn't know if he was any good, but playing pool did seem appealing to him.

Ever since he walked out the night before he seemed more at ease, more relaxed. But that all changed when Sam had to show up outside of Kelly's and inquire as to where he was staying. If he wanted her to know then he would tell her on his own. Blowing out an angry breath Jason neared his destination. He figured that unless he told her exactly how he felt, than she would continue to annoy the hell out of him. He tried to avoid it, not wanting to have to deal with her hurt feelings, but he was getting tired of her.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts of the woman who couldn't seem to understand his frustration he decided to focus on a woman who understood him fully. He didn't know how or why but Elizabeth seemed to know exactly what he needed and Jason was grateful for that. He couldn't hide his disappointment from himself when he realized that he would have to wait a little bit longer when it came to talking to Elizabeth about their past, but he also couldn't hide the happiness that overcame him with the knowledge that he would see her later.

It had only been twenty-four hours since he met his "friend" but he couldn't help but feel connected to her. There was no doubt to Jason that their friendship was a strong one. It had to be, what else could describe the reasoning behind him feeling close to her, trusting her, and wanting to spend time with her. He even remembered something about her and in that memory he felt the emotions that were present in him during that brief glimpse. His steps started to ease, not holding as much force behind them and his eyes weren't cloudy with annoyance anymore.

As he approached the gate that was opened for him without question, Jason was left to wonder about her fiancé, Lucky. He had met the man for a second and he had already known the guy was useless to him. There was no denying the fact that Lucky didn't like Jason, for what he didn't know, but what he did know was that he didn't like Lucky either. Just one second with the man and Jason was ready to throw him over the table. By the way that Elizabeth introduced him to Lucky he could tell that the feeling was not a new one.

He had to yet again shake the annoyance out of his mind as he entered the house. He came here to find a way to start his life over. He just moved out of the penthouse, refusing to live there anymore, and now he needed a job. Sam told him that he had plenty of money because of his previous job with Sonny, but Jason couldn't live off of that. Not just because it was considered "dirty money," but because if he was going to start over, than he wanted to start over completely.

He needed a job, and although coming here was against his better judgment, Jason thought it would be for the best. According to Sonny, he had a lot of enemies who could care less whether or not he could remember anything. They hated Jason and would most likely use his condition against him. So in order to keep safe, even though he was sure he could take care of himself, Jason came to the last place he thought he would return to since waking up.

The guard came back after announcing his presence and told him to enter. The formalities of the situation amused Jason, to have someone "announce" his presence seemed a bit ridiculous and over the top. As he entered the living room he was met with the hopeful face of his "friend" Sonny Corinthos.

"Jason. Hey man, how's it going?"

"I need a job."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The bell above the door signaled his entrance. Her fork stalled mid-poke into her mashed potatoes as she lifted her eyes to identify the person who was now walking towards her. Her heart was thundering in her chest and her breaths were becoming shallow.

She was nervous.

When Elizabeth first came to the realization that joint custody would be the best for all involved, she never thought that she would be so nervous when she brought up her idea to Jax. When she told Lucky it just flew out of her mouth, but as Jax neared her table she couldn't help but feel the urge to flee. It was a little too late for that because the man was already sitting in front of her with kindness in his eyes. That seemed to ease her a bit.

"I'm glad you called me, I wanted to apologize for how I handled the situation yesterday. I should have never offered you that money, but you have to understand that I am desperate Elizabeth. I already love this child more than anything and I-"

"Jax, I understand. You took me by surprise, but I haven't been very easy to deal with. I mean I was threatening to keep your child away from you because you were thrown into a situation that you really could not control." Her interruption made his tense shoulders relax and put them both in a state of calmness. Both of them were nervous about this meeting. She was nervous because she didn't know if Jax would agree to the new arrangement, and he was nervous because she held all of the cards regarding their child in her hands.

He could fight for custody and offer all of the money in the world that he wanted to, but in the end, Elizabeth was the one carrying the child. The courts always favored the mother, and he had broken the contract when he and Courtney separated.

Deciding to dive in head first Elizabeth brought up the real reason she invited Jax to meet her for lunch at Kelly's. "I called you today because I think I have found a solution to our problem. One that I think will benefit everyone involved."

"Really?" She had spiked his interest and he was sitting up in his chair leaning towards her waiting for her explanation.

"I think that we should share custody of this child." There, she said it. A weight was temporary lifted off of her shoulders but quickly fell back on once she took in the disappointed look on his face. "You don't agree."

"I don't know. That seems like the best idea, but I don't know if it is."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you willing to be connected to me for the rest of you life? You are just starting out with Lucky and Cameron; you are all trying to be a family. Do you really want to add me into the mix? Lucky and I don't get along as it is, do you think he will be able to handle me being apart of your life? Can he handle us sharing a child?"

Seeing his point but knowing that there was no other way, she tried to make him understand, "I have grown to love this child Jax. At first I thought that I would be able to give her up because I thought you and Courtney deserved the type of happiness that I have with Cameron and Lucky. But then she cheated on you and now the two of you are separated and on your way towards a divorce. I still believe that you deserve this child, and I know that you will be a wonderful father, but something changed." Inhaling and exhaling deeply she continued, "I have always known that I was pregnant, but it didn't quite hit me until my stomach started to grow. It's not a huge difference, but when I look down and I see this little pouch, I know that there is this life growing inside of me. This child is apart of me and will always be apart of me. How can I give this child up when I have grown so attached to her? I know it isn't fair of me, but I love this child and I can't bear the thought of giving her up… or keeping her away from her father."

"What would you do if Courtney never cheated on me and we were still married?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

He truly understood her attachment to this child. She was carrying the baby and her body was the one that was changing. It was only natural that Elizabeth had grown to love this child as if she were always planning on being the mother. "I think that joint custody would be the best thing for you and me. I want my child to have a mother, and I know that you are an amazing mother, you amaze me with how wonderful you are with Cameron." At the mention of her son and the flattery that Jax was bestowing upon her made Elizabeth smile with pride.

"So yes, I think we should share custody. My only reservations about this is how Lucky is going to handle the situation."

The smile she had been wearing only grew wider once Jax agreed to joint custody, but it fell once he mentioned Lucky. She couldn't help but remember his words from the night before. Even though he had just agreed with the arrangement hours before, it still didn't seem like he really wanted to share custody. But in order to put Jax at ease she didn't mention the fight from the night before, "Lucky thinks that this is the best for everyone also. I'm not saying that it is going to be easy, but I am sure we will all put our own issues behind us and make sure that this child's life is put first."

All of the hurt feelings and angry words were left behind in that moment. Jax finally felt like this was happening the way it was supposed to. At first he wanted to share this child with the woman that he loved, but she turned out to be a whore, and then he just wanted to raise his child and be the best father. Of course he wanted a mother for his child, but that was the least of his worries. But sitting in front of Elizabeth and listening to her talk about her growing attachment to their child, he knew that this was best. His child would have everything that she needed, including a wonderful and loving mother. He just hoped Lucky would get over his insecurities and make this easy on Elizabeth.

During his thought process, he didn't even register the sound of another entrance into Kelly's "So then it's settled. I'll call my lawyer and have the custody papers drawn up."

"What custody papers?"

Both Jax and Elizabeth looked into each others eyes and shared a silent feeling of displeasure at the newest addition to their conversation. They both broke eye contact at the same time and looked at the couple that was standing near their table.

Jax was the first to speak "Hello Courtney," looking at the man standing next to her, the man who had an affair with his wife; he said his name with as much displeasure as he said his soon-to-be-ex-wife's name "Nicolas."

"What did you mean when you said you were going to draw up custody papers?"

"Jax and I have agreed to share custody of this child." Elizabeth decided to cut in.

Taken back by the news Courtney reached for Nicolas' hand "I don't understand. How can you share custody when_ I_ am the child's mother? Did you two just happen to forget that fact?"

Both Jax and Elizabeth stared at Courtney with shock. Elizabeth could not believe her ears. Did Courtney really just say that she was the mother of the child Elizabeth was carrying? This, coming from the woman who admitted that she didn't want the child anymore. Courtney had told Jax-after she admitted to sleeping with Nicolas-that she didn't want the baby. Elizabeth couldn't understand this flighty blonde. One minute she was disowning the child and then the next minute she was claiming it to be hers. "Excuse me?"

Staring down at Elizabeth, hard, Courtney let go of Nicolas hand and folded her arms across her chest, "What? Now that I am no longer with Jax, I am just cut out of this child's life? I was always supposed to be the child's mother. That doesn't change because-"

"Enough Courtney," standing now Jax addressed her "you never wanted to be apart of this child's life. At first yes, but after Elizabeth became pregnant, maybe even before, you didn't want it. You even came to me and told me that you didn't want to have anything to do with the child after you rubbed your affair with Nicolas in my face."

"I was upset-"

"You were upset? My wife had just told me that she was cheating on me!" His voice was raising and the situation was quickly turning ugly. Nicolas could tell that Courtney was about to reply to Jax, in an attempt to calm her down he put a hand on her arm.

"How do you figure that you are the mother now Courtney? What, are you going to share custody with me? A man you hate so much that you would cheat on me and then throw it in my face."

Ignoring Nicolas' calming hand Courtney retorted, "No, I am going to fight you for custody and then Nicolas and I will raise the child together."

Every person's eyes in that group grew large, except for Courtney's. She was oblivious to their shocked faces, especially the man who she had just volunteered to be a father to a child that wasn't even hers. Without his permission or acceptance to top it off.

After hearing her words Nicolas chose that moment to speak for the first time, "Courtney, I think we should leave, we need to talk."

Turning to look at Nicolas she protested "No! They are trying to-"

"Courtney," and that was all the warning she needed because she gave in and followed Nicolas out the door without a backwards glance to the people they left behind.

"She won't be able to take the child will she?"

Jax could sense the worry behind Elizabeth's words. He knew that Courtney had no chance in obtaining custody of his and Elizabeth's child; he just had to reassure Elizabeth of that. Covering her hand on the table as he sat back down, he gave it a gentle squeeze, "Don't worry. She doesn't stand a chance against us. I'll make sure of it."

He could tell that his declaration made the worry dim a bit, but it was still there. As he was about to continue his phone rang.

Elizabeth was lost in her own thoughts when Jax hung up from his phone call. "I'm sorry, but I have to go back to work. Do you need a ride home or to work?"

Snapping out of her own thoughts about Courtney trying to take her child, she looked at Jax, "No, I'm good. I don't have to work today, so I was just going to have a relaxing day. I have to pick Cameron up from my Gram's soon, but I still need some quiet time."

"Ok, if you're sure. If you need anything, anything at all, please do not hesitate to call me."

"I will."

Standing up and walking towards the exit Jax was stopped by Elizabeth, "Thanks Jax, I just know that this will all work out." Giving a small smile Jax left the diner and a very confused and worried Elizabeth.

* * *

Shock.

That one word was all that could explain the expression on Sonny's' face. Here stood his best friend, the man who had just lost his memory and claimed that he didn't want to be in the business anymore, and he was asking for a job. Sonny thought that the only way Jason would come to him was if he remembered something, but by the look on his face, Sonny could tell that Jason didn't remember anything, about him anyway.

This was just too good to be true and he was not going to get his hopes up until Jason explained this abrupt request. Sonny didn't have to wait long.

"I don't want my old job back. I don't think I ever will, but I thought I could work for you at the coffee warehouse, or maybe even the docks," despite being uncomfortable with the whole situation, he couldn't help but find amusement in his next statement, "your legal business."

His crooked smile happened to be contagious because seconds later Sonny was fighting off one of his own. "You want to work at the warehouse? You are part owner in the coffee business Jason."

Jason cut Sonny off quickly "I want to work. I can't live off of money that I don't want. I want… I want to work for it."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll give you a job at the warehouse, if you want to take back your position as co-owner," raising his hand to stop Jason from his protests Sonny continued "just let me know."

Jason knew that he would not be making that decision anytime soon, but he still decided to go along with what Sonny was giving him. "Fine."

"I'm not going to change the name either. You may not be my partner right now, but the company will remain Corthinos-Morgan." Bringing out the dimples he continued "Besides the fact that I want you as my partner, the paperwork to change the name is hell and I don't want to go through that again."

The comment made Jason chuckle slightly. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, he still felt at ease with Sonny. At first he wanted nothing to do with the man, but the more time he spent with him, he realized how deep their friendship was. He couldn't explain it, it was just there. Nodding his head just once in a show of gratitude Jason spoke "Thank you. When do I start?"

"How about tomorrow at nine?"

"Ok." With that he began to make his exit from the living area.

Not wanting his friend to leave so soon, Sonny tried to stall, "How are things going with you?"

Stopping at the question Jason turned around "OK."

"Good… good. I guess I'll see you around." He was disappointed that he couldn't think of anything to keep his friend around, but he had to take things at a steady pace and be happy for the little interaction that Jason offered. He had just asked for a job, that was a clear stepping stone.

Seeing the disappointment Jason decided to add "I moved out of the penthouse."

"Oh. What about Sam?"

"What about her?"

The tone behind his response showed Jason's annoyance with the woman so Sonny decided to leave it alone. He was just making progress with the man, he wasn't about to let Sam ruin it. "Nothing, I just…. Forget it. Where are you staying now?"

"Jakes." He didn't mind telling Sonny about his new living arrangements; he just hoped that a certain someone did not find out about it, "I really don't want anyone to know about where I'm staying-"

"Don't worry about it, I won't say anything."

"Thanks," and with that Jason left.

* * *

Elizabeth sat at Kelly's for about two minutes after Jax left. Her thoughts were swimming around in her mind so much that she was feeling suffocated. She quickly paid her bill and left. Her thoughts were consumed with what Courtney had said.

Could she really fight for this baby? If she could, was there a chance that she could win? Sure she had Jax on her side, but Courtney had Nicolas. Both of them were financially secure and they were going to be a two parent home. Would the court favor them because of that?

She needed to stop thinking about that; she needed something to drown out her own thoughts. Thinking about Courtney and her rude interruption was only going to bring on stress, and stress was not good for the baby. Automatically a hand went to her stomach and she began to rub soothing circles as she walked the docks.

As she looked up she was met with a familiar face. Her steps started to slow as a smile appeared on her face. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you so soon."

Her smile was returned with an equal killer smile from the man who stopped in front of her. "I was on my way to Kelly's. I never got my cup of coffee."

"Oh yeah, I'm so sorry about that, I completely forgot that Lucky was going to be there,"

"No, it's ok. I had things I had to do anyway." They stood there in silence for a moment just looking into each others eyes. The silence was comfortable, but Jason decided to break it anyway, "So everything is ok with you and Lucky?"

"What?" at first she was confused with the question, but she quickly caught on, "Oh, yeah… yeah everything is good. Well not everything, but for the most part."

"Are you busy now?"

"No, I still have about two hours before I told my Grams that I would pick up Cameron."

"Cameron, that's your son's name?" He remembered her mentioning that she had a child yesterday. She said that she had to pick up Cameron from her Grams yesterday, but she left so fast that he really didn't have time to process it.

"Yes." Her smile was so bright and her eyes lit up so much that Jason knew her son was the most important person in her life. "He just turned two in May and brings a new meaning to the phrase terrible twos. He runs all over the place, knocking things over and just making a mess, but I still love him more than life itself. Just the other day he…" Laughing at herself Elizabeth apologized "I'm sorry, I just seem to become the proud mommy whenever someone mentions him."

"That's ok; it was nice to hear you talk about him." He didn't care if she talked about her son for hours as long as she was happy. He couldn't explain it, much like a lot of other things, but seeing her light up and talk so freely about her son made him happy for her. He was really interested to hear her talk about the boy. If he were honest, he was interested in hearing her talk about anything, just not Lucky. Jason still did not like the man. "Do you want to go back to Kelly's with me?" Lifting his shoulders in a simple shrug and turning his head to the side, as he squinted his eyes he pondered his next statement. Turning his head back to look at her, his decision was made. "We could finally talk."

She did not want to go back to Kelly's. Too many people kept showing up there. If she was going to have this conversation with Jason, she wanted it to be where no one could interrupt them. Jason had been trying to talk to her for the past two days now, and every time they accidentally bumped into each other, someone or something interrupted them. "Do you think we could go somewhere else? For some reason I just don't think we will get much talking done at Kelly's." Realizing that her statement did not come out right Elizabeth quickly cut in, "I mean, too many people that we know go there and might interrupt our talk."

"Ok, I have my bike back there, we can go to Jakes." He turned around to show her to his bike but stopped once he realized she was not following He turned back around to see her standing in the same spot he left her in. "Is something wrong? Is your baby ok?"

Kicking herself for making him worry, Elizabeth quickly reassured him, "Yes the baby's fine. It's just…." Excitement was bubbling in her belly. It had been so long, too long, since she had been on the back of his bike, the wind rushing past her while she screamed with excitement, encouraging him to go faster. "Where's your bike?"

Her change in demeanor confused him. One second she was a frozen in place, looking petrified with the idea of riding his bike, and the next she was full of excitement and was practically skipping with glee towards him. Scrunching his forehead in confusion while fighting a grin as he watched the excitement overtake her he replied "This way."

* * *

They were not on their way to Jakes.

But at that moment, as the wind was swallowing her whole, Elizabeth could care less.

Her head was thrown back as she gazed up into the darkening sky. The sight that awaited her was one that brought out the artist in her. The sun was setting, which turned the sky into an open canvas of unique colors blending together. Pinks, purples, blues, and yellows all interlaced together to form a beautiful scene. Rays of light were peaking out behind the clouds as the sun descended towards the world below, out of view, allowing for the moon to make its presence. The rays truly looked like heavens gate was opening, calling home all that were awaiting their final destination. Her hair was longer than it used to be during their previous rides in the past. The helmet acted as a slight barrier, but her hair was flowing wildly behind her like waves of silk.

This was freedom.

Her arms were wrapped tight around Jason's torso, not out of fear, but out of comfort. Knowing that he was there, deciding where they went, having control of the bike, giving her freedom.

As he gunned the bike into a faster pace she couldn't help but let out a squeal full of excitement. The scenery around them was just one big streak of nothingness. She couldn't make out a single object as they raced towards nothing, taking sharp turns that should have scared her but didn't. But that was the way she liked it. She threw her head back again to look at the now dark sky as she felt the bike slow. Taking her eyes off of the mesmerizing sky Elizabeth studied her surroundings and couldn't hold back the small frown that appeared on her face.

She knew this place.

How did he know to come here?

The bike had been idle for a few moments before he turned it off. He didn't know what made him turn away from Jakes and towards the cliff roads. It just felt right, and his passenger didn't seem to be complaining. From the sounds of her squeals, Jason was able to bet she loved it. He was waiting for her to get off of the bike, but she wasn't moving.

Turning slightly to look over his shoulder he asked "Are you ok?"

She was looking to her left, staring off at the familiar area when his voice brought her back to the present. She turned her face to look at him and was struck by how close they were with his head turned back towards her. Staring into his eyes for a moment she realized that he was waiting for her to remove herself from the bike.

As she broke eye contact and started towards the edge of the bridge Jason felt a tinge of disappointment. They had been so close to each other and she had backed away as if he were fire. As he swung his leg over the bike and started to walk towards her she asked "How did you know to come here?"

He didn't.

"I don't know, I was just driving and you seemed to be enjoying yourself. I didn't think you would mind-"

Tuning to look at him she realized that she had confused him "I don't mind, I was just wondering if you knew about this place."

Closing the gap between him and the edge of the bridge he leaned over and looked down into water. "I don't know why or how I came here. I just…" concentrating hard on the concept, he tried to figure out how he got to the bridge. "I just started to drive and this is where we ended up, I don't know why."

He was looking at her with the silent request for her to explain the reason behind her questioning. She leaned over the bridge mimicking his pose and turned her head to look at him. "You took me here one time. A long time ago, practically another life time. I just thought it was weird that you would come here, or know to come here."

"I didn't."

"I know," and that was the part that confused her. She understood that he didn't know what this place meant to him, or even why he ended up here. But somehow they did.

Jason believed her understanding. Not because he trusted her, even though he did. But because of the look in her eyes. She might have been just as confused as he was, but she understood.

Breaking eye contact from her, Jason turned his attention back towards the water. It was to dark to see, and because of that he couldn't tell how far down it went, but because of the silence he was able to hear it.

"_You got it?" _

"_Yeah. I never knew this was here. Where does it go?" _

"_Over the gorge. I guess there used to be an estate out here. The bridge is all that's left." _

"_How far down does it go?" _

"_Far. You can't see the water at night, but you can hear it if you're quiet."_

"_How'd you find this place?"_

The pain behind his eyes grew sharper and sharper with each passing moment. The image was so clear. They had been here before, to this very spot. She had shorter hair, looked a lot younger, but slightly older than she did in his previous memory flash. They were leaning over the bridge looking down at the water just like they were now. He though the pain was starting to lessen, but all of a sudden another blinding stab caught him off guard.

Reaching out towards the bridge he tried to steady himself, one hand was grasping at the edge of the bridge so hard that his knuckles started to turn white. He used the heel of his other hand to push against his eye socket in an attempt to ease the pain. Just as the pain increased he was swarmed with another memory of that night.

"_What do you like?" It was a simple question, one to make her take her mind off of her worries_

"_I don't understand."_

"_Painting? Ice cream? Going fast?" Even though he gave her other options, Jason already knew what her answer would be._

"_Going fast."_

"_Why? Why fast?" _

"_I don't know. Makes me laugh. And I feel alive. It makes my heart pound."_

_He knew that feeling all too well, "Mm-hmm. Yeah. I used to fight."_

"_With whom?" _

"_Oh, anyone. I don't know."_

"_You don't strike me as the fight-picking type." _

"_Well, you know, I'm not really, but there must be something about me that irritates people."_

"_Ah."_

"_Or they just knew it was what I wanted because I'd go to Jake's, and I wouldn't even be paying attention. And then some guy would insult one of the waitresses, and I'd try to stop them. And then all hell would break loose, but-"_

"_So you want to go to Jake's and pick a fight?" There was laughter behind her eyes and he knew that the mood was turning into a better one. He was glad that he was able to make her feel better with a bike ride and a simple story of his past._

"_You ever been in a bar fight?" _

"_Well, I guess the first night that we met. Remember you got the creep away from me-" _

"_Oh, yeah" That was the night that started it all._

"_And I wasn't very grateful."_

_Taking her earlier approach, Jason asked with the same amount of humor behind his eyes that she had "So you want to go dance with some jerk you don't know? _

"_No, no, I -- listen, you can go pick the fight, and I'll just be your backup."_

"_Really? See, first I need to know if you can handle yourself." Pushing himself away from the bridge he turned his body towards her and pushed her slightly in the shoulder. _

_She looked at her shoulder and then back at him, "Oh."_

"_How hard can you hit?" _

_She was looking at him as if he were crazy "I don't know. I don't go around hitting people every day. This whole bar-fighting thing is going to be kind of new for me." _

_Holding up his hand's, palms facing her, he replied "All right. Come on, try it." _

"_Are you serious?" _

"_Yeah. Go on."_

_She lifted her arm back making a fist and hit his hand with as much power as a paper ball would make being thrown against the wind. _

_He couldn't hold the laughter out of his voice as he spoke to her after that poor attempt of a punch "You can do better than that." _

"_Well, I don't want to hurt you." _

_As if her tiny body could ever inflict pain on him. He wanted to laugh at that comment but withheld his humor. "Well, see, if you can't hurt me, then it's not a great idea that we go bar fighting at Jake's. So you need to show me that you can defend yourself."_

"_Ok." The one word was spoken with amusement. _

_She looked at him with determination behind her eyes and decided that she would play along and use his hands as a punching bag._

_They continued on with their mini boxing lesson for several minutes. Her alternating between hands and him moving them in a circular dance under the moon light._

_Just when she was about to move in for another punch he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, twisting her in a way so her back collided with his chest. "See? Now, you got to move. Otherwise you're too easy to catch."_

"_Ok, ok, I'll keep moving." _

"_Ok, so do you want to rest, or do you want to try it again?" _

_With a mischievous glint in her eye she replied "What do you think?" right before she pulled out of his arms and went in for yet another punch hoping to catch him off guard._

_Unfortunately for her, Jason was a bit faster in his reflexes_

"_I almost got you."_

_Shaking his head slightly in amusement he retorted "Not even close." _

_Smiling in defeat and shaking her arms to gain back feeling she responded "Yeah."_

He was on the ground, back against the side of the bridge with his head in his hands. Elizabeth was kneeling between his spread legs trying to pry his head free from his grasp while frantically calling his name.

He was standing there looking down at the sightless water basking in the silence, and then all of a sudden he was doubled over in pain, holding his head. Elizabeth did all that she could do lower his body to the ground before he fell.

Somehow she was able to prop him up against the bridge as he continued to hold his head, pushing the heels of his hands hard against his closed eyes. She could tell that he was in pain. He face was turning red and his body was pulled tight.

Elizabeth tried desperately to gain his attention, but it was of little hope. All she could do was sit helplessly as his pain overtook him. She just hoped that it didn't last that long.

His body started to relax and his hands started to ease away from his face. His breathing was beginning to return to normal and Elizabeth sent up a silent prayer that it was over.

Pulling his limp arms away from his face, she quickly replaced his hands with her own as she cradled his face. Speaking softly as to not jar him, Elizabeth looked into his glossy eyes, "Jason?" After a brief pause she asked "What happened?"

His response was not what she was expecting.

In a gruff voice that sounded as smooth as sand paper, his eyes focused slightly on her smooth a clear face as he said "Tell me about us."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Jason, we need to get you to the hospital."

Ignoring the roar that found a permanent spot in his ears, Jason shook his head as firmly as he could. "No…no hospitals."

"Jason, we have to. This is the second time today that you almost passed out on me."

She was worried about him, that much he could tell. Her eyes were boring into his, holding nothing but complete concern for him. He wanted to ease her concern, do what she wanted in order to make her feel at ease, but he was tired of hospitals, tired of everyone hovering over him, and tired of getting flashes of memories about his previous life.

So far he had only had three. When he went to the hospital the other day he accidentally got off at the wrong floor, bringing him to the pediatrics wing. He didn't realize this until he walked right past the nursery that held tiny bundles of human beings that were just brought into the world. He was about to turn right around when he let his gaze linger on the newborns. In that instant, pain ripped through his eyes making him press the heels of his hands against the lids in an attempt to lessen the pain. For the briefest of moments, a memory invaded his thoughts. He was dressed in what looked like a blue hospital gown, but his clothes were the furthest from his mind. What he recalled in that moment, was holding the soft, lifeless body of a newborn baby girl. He could feel the tears in his eyes, feel the ache in his heart, and feel the loss of a child who never had the chance to open her eyes and peer into the world. Just as quickly as that memory had assaulted him, it was gone.

The memory was so quick that he did not think anything of it. He didn't want to tell anyone about it. There was no need for people to pounce on him once they found out that he might start to regain his memory. If he told anyone about it he was sure that they would hold on to the slightest hope that he would remember them and Jason really did not feel like dealing with that aggravation.

It wasn't like he was going to remember anything or anyone else. That one time was just a fluke. No memory would push its way into his mind anytime soon. Or so he thought.

All of his negative thoughts about his previous life had changed once he started to remember Elizabeth. Out of the three memories that he had thus far, Elizabeth was the lead in two of them. At first he thought that it was because he was spending time with her. But wouldn't he remember something about Sam if that were the case? For the first couple of days since he woke up, Sam was the only person he had contact with. If his memories came back because of contact with a person, then shouldn't he have at least remembered something about Sam, or even Sonny? Jason knew that there was something different about Elizabeth. She was special.

His first memory had only been brief and full of feelings. His second had been of her, most likely from years ago, and it too was short, But it held more than feelings, he could almost feel like he was living it again. But this last one, the one that made him fall to his current position-back against the wall, legs spread apart, and Elizabeth kneeling in front of him while her concerned gazed searched his soul-it was different. He felt as if he were living it again. Every emotion, every feeling raced through him as the memory surged from deep within. When he relived it, he could not decipher between the past and present. His whole being was trapped into the memory.

He had to know about them. He couldn't explain his reasoning's, but he had to know about their past. It was a feeling screaming at him, telling him that he had to know everything about his past with Elizabeth, and he would be damned if this conversation was pushed back because he needed to go to the hospital.

Shaking himself out of his dazed state, Jason wrapped his long fingers around her delicate wrists as her hands cradled his face. "I don't need to go to the hospital."

She could not believe that after almost passing out he was still refusing to go to the hospital. She should have known better, this was Jason. The man almost froze to death in the snow because he refused to go to the hospital after being shot. The man was defiantly stubborn. "Yes you do. Jason, something is not right. You're getting headaches so severe that they are literally knocking you out. If-"

"I'll go," she was not going to let up. He could see that his statement pleased her, but her victory was short lived when he added "after we talk."

"Jason-"

"Elizabeth."

Both held warning tones. Both were extremely stubborn, and neither wanted to back down. He wanted to finally find out what they were to each other. Why he felt he had this connection with her, and why she seemed different from everyone else. She just wanted to get him checked out. He scared her yet again when out of nowhere he almost collapsed because of the pain he was experiencing. Elizabeth wanted to tell him about their relationship, sure she was scared, but after spending so much time with him in the past two days, she felt he deserved to know about them.

"Fine," moving away from his touch, Elizabeth sat to his right, both of their backs where propped against the wall while there arms touched. "I'll tell you about us, but you have to promise me that I can take you to the hospital after."

Turning his head slightly to peer down on her, Jason splayed a smirk across his lips, "I promise."

She couldn't help it, her eyes lit up and a slight smirk appeared on her face at his teasing. Even though he promised her with a teasing look in his eyes, she knew that he would live up to it. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." The teasing was gone. In its place was such seriousness that it carried a chill through her. Jason was looking at her with blue flames of intensity waiting her explanation. His eyes held so much intensity that Elizabeth had to look away. She forgot how easy it was to loose herself in him.

Closing her eyes for a moment to compose herself, Elizabeth opened them again to stare off at the distance. "I guess it all started when you saved me from myself."

The comment confused him. His forehead creased as a frown appeared on his lips. He was about to ask her what she meant by that when her soft voice filtered through his thoughts. "I thought I had just lost the love of my life. We all thought he died in a fire. One night I was feeling down and angry with the world. I decided that I wanted to feel something other than the emptiness that was consuming me. I got dressed up, put on all of this make-up and headed to Jakes." She was staring straight ahead, lost in her own world. He was looking straight ahead as well. Hoping that if he looked off into the distance as she was, then maybe he would be able to replay the events in his mind as well, but so far he had nothing. Turning his head to get a good look at her again, he saw the beginning of a wistful smile appear on her beautiful face.

"When I got there, I found myself in the company of one of the regulars. We were talking, and I was feeding him lie after lie, doing my best to forget about my pain. He tried to get me to dance with him and when I refused he pulled me up and forced me to dance." He couldn't remember any of this, he couldn't even picture it in his mind, but the thought of some man forcing himself on her made Jason clench his jaw shut and form his hands into tight fists. He wanted to find this guy and beat the shit out of him.

"I was trying to fight him off, but deep down I was welcoming the anger I felt towards him. Just as I was in the middle of-" laughing at her own feistiness, Elizabeth continued, "I was in the middle of threatening him when you showed up." Turning her head to look up at him, she was surprised to see Jason staring down at her. Lowering her voice while she stared into his eyes, her smile turned into one of admiration. "You got the creep away from me, and then you just listened."

She turned back to look at the darkness that Jason guessed played as her own private screen. Letting her visualize the memories as she related them back to him, and just like the night that she claimed started it all, Jason just listened.

He listened as she told him about their talk at Jakes, the rush she felt after he took her on her very first motorcycle ride. He listened as she told him about the talks they had along the docks or at Kelly's. She told him how they helped each other through a very tough time. Her loosing the love of her life and him loosing his son because the woman he thought loved him betrayed him. He continued to listen without interruption as she explained the many bike rides he took her on. His own smile matched the brightness of hers when she recalled the first time he let her steer. Her excitement seeped through him and Jason made a vow that he would have to let her steer again some time. He would do that just to see her smile that way again. Her story continued with her explanation of the painting she did just for him. She gave it the title "The Wind," and gave it to him, but yet he didn't recall seeing any painting resembling the explanation she gave him. It wasn't until she told him that she still had the painting that he realized why.

The beginning of their friendship seemed innocent, just meant as time for the two of them, escaping with each other. Although he listened to her and paid close attention to her melodic voice recalling their friendship, it was when she told him of the night that changed everything, that his interest increased even more, if that was at all possible.

Apparently, she was having a horrible night, missing her lost love, feeling incomplete and worthless when he entered the empty diner. He did what he did best for her, he listened and let her voice her frustrations and feelings of emptiness, and then they danced. At first she hoped to just loose herself in his strong embrace, imagining that it was Lucky holding her. But it wasn't. Jason was his own person, and he had already found his own place in her heart. She couldn't pretend that Jason was Lucky. Jason was Jason. The dance began one way but ended as him holding Elizabeth together, not letting her fall to pieces. After helping her pull herself out of the blackness that she fell into every once in a while at that time, he left to where she didn't know. He told her that he had to take care of something, and then he was gone. She told him about how she decided to go for a walk the next morning. It started to snow, and she just wanted to go to the boxcar for a peaceful morning while she sat in the snow. Instead she found him lying face down, bleeding from a gunshot wound, and seconds away from death.

Jason knew that he had been shot a few times, though he couldn't remember when or why or even the pain he experienced, the scars told him. After taking a shower one afternoon, he just stood in front of his mirror, studying each mark on his body, knowing that each scar represented each mark that blackened his soul.

As Elizabeth told him of how she dragged him into the boxcar and ran across town trying to find help for him, Jason couldn't help but wonder what scar belonged to the bullet that was responsible for tainting Elizabeth's soft hands with his blood. He couldn't remember the world that he and Sonny created, but he knew that it held nothing good, and he cursed himself for dragging Elizabeth into it all those years ago.

His anger and self hatred faded slightly once she started to recall the time they spent in her studio. Though the time spent in the studio with Elizabeth nursing him back to health had its advantages, she quickly reassured him that they had to overcome their obstacles, mainly Carly, Nicolas, and her Grams. Since the moment he woke up, this was the first time that he _truly_ wanted to remember his old life as Jason Morgan. Just so he could remember what it was like to have the woman who was sitting next to him stand by him against the whole town.

"You spent that Christmas with me. We decorated this pitiful tree with paper chains and angels. You kept telling me that it would look better in the forest covered in pinecones and snow, like it was meant to be. But you loved that tree just as much as I did." Looking up at him, she had laughter in her voice, but her eyes communicated to him that she meant every word she said. "The time we spent together that winter is still my most favorite time ever. I can't remember a time when I felt so… free."

That Christmas he gave her a leather jacket that she swore she still had. After he swore to her that he was healed, she told him about how he moved out of the studio that Christmas morning. She didn't want him to leave, but knew that he had to figure out his life again.

Her next story she relayed to him was the first time his life style brought a threat to hers. She told him about their New Years Eve ride, and the fact that he saved her from an uptight party. But it was the next part that had his blood boiling again. The man that had shot him decided to plant a bomb in her studio that night. Most likely to kill him, but Elizabeth's life was threatened also. If he hadn't run across the lackey that planted the bomb, Jason wasn't sure what would have happened. Luckily, he rushed back to her studio and pulled her out in time for a man named Roy to defuse the bomb, bringing no harm to her.

He hated the life even more when she told him about that night. Because he killed people for a living, an innocent woman would have been killed, all because of his choices and his life. He was still listening to her. He never once interrupted her, just feeling slightly jealous that she had the memories stored and available to her. She could look back on the time they spent together; all he had was her word. But strangely enough that was fine with him for the time being. He trusted her word.

"After the bomb you told me that we couldn't be friends anymore." Finally, he thought, the man did something right. Staying away from Elizabeth was the best thing that his former self could have done at that time. "I was so upset that you ended our friendship, I felt like I was loosing my best friend."

"It wasn't until Sorel, the man who shot you and placed the bomb in my studio. It wasn't until he approached me on the docks one evening that I finally made you see that you weren't doing any good by staying away." Laughter bubbled out of her throat when she went on, "I did all that I could that night to make you see my side of things, and then you finally gave in, and we ended the night with a ride."

"That night, that is what I remembered this afternoon?"

"Yes." Their eyes locked and Jason could see the brief flash of pain that appeared in hers once she continued on "But after that night you decided to leave Port Charles for good. I'm not saying that is was because of me, there were other reasons you left. But you thought that the best thing to do for everyone you cared about was to leave town. I didn't get it at first. I mean we had so much fun that night, I thought that you finally realized that I wasn't better off without you in my life, and then the next thing I know, you're telling me goodbye."

"I'll see you later." The whispered words came from his slightly parted lips as his eyes stayed locked with hers.

In a voice just as soft Elizabeth asked "What?"

"Not goodbye, I'll see you later."

"How did you-"

"I don't know." They had the whole bridge to themselves. No one was around, no one could hear a word that was past between them. If they wanted to, Jason and Elizabeth could have shouted their entire conversation and not a single soul would have heard what was being screamed. But instead, every word that was past between them was spoken on a whisper. Whispers that were so soft they flutter against each others cheeks and lips due to their closeness.

Not knowing what was overcoming him; Jason reached out and cupped her cheek. It was so soft under his touch, but he knew that it would be. Eyes still locked, both of them made slight movements of their heads, bringing them even closer. They were mere inches apart, and getting closer by the second. Jason's next words were whispered across her lips as they both closed their eyes, "I… I'm sorry that I left."

As their noses brushed a fire began to form within the both of them

He angled his head just enough to bring his cheek into contact with hers. His lips were right by the shell of her ear, causing his breath to fan across her neck and ear. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Moving his head back while sliding his cheek against the smoothness of hers, Jason turned his head as Elizabeth turned her own. Both wanted to make the connection. Within seconds their lips would be fused together, igniting the fire that was slowly building between them.

But the connection never came. Jason never felt her soft lips against his own. Confusion and disappointment showed through his eyes when they opened once he realized she pulled away; physically and emotionally.

"I…" Sitting this close to him was making it hard for Elizabeth to come up with anything. She had just been seconds away from kissing him, and now all she could do was stare at him and not form any words explaining why she pulled away.

Standing up and putting as much distance between the two of them, Elizabeth searched for anything to end the deathly silence. Jason just sat there and watched as she ran her hands through her hair. She was having an internal battle with herself and Jason wanted to kick himself for making her feel uncomfortable. "Elizabeth-"

"Oh my god, what time is it?" Looking down at her watch Elizabeth groaned loudly while she cursed herself inside. Another night she spent hours talking to Jason while her Grams watched Cameron, expecting her to pick her son up on time. Her grandmother had agreed to watch Cameron all day for her, but Elizabeth was pretty sure that her Grams expected her to be at her house earlier. How could she forget about her own son?

"I need to go. I have to pick up Cameron, it's getting really late."

"Ok."

As they drove back to the docks so Elizabeth could pick up her car, Jason could feel the difference. The ride to the bridge was filled with screams of excitement, smiles, and Elizabeth clinging to him. The ride back was filled with thick air, and two people lost in their own thoughts.

As Jason stopped his bike right next to her car, he couldn't help but wish the night was not over. Although it ended with an almost kiss that made her pull away from him, he still enjoyed the time he spent with her, learning about the beginning of their relationship. He just hoped that the incident on the bridge didn't ruin what they had. There was still more that he needed to know. His leaving in that year could not have been the end of their relationship. Jason had a feeling that it was just the beginning. He just hoped that Elizabeth would still want to tell him about their past.

"Goodnight Jason, thank you for the ride."

"Goodnight."

As she turned to walk away, his light grip on her arm stopped her. "When can I see you again?"

"I work all day tomorrow, and I'm not sure when I'll have a day off. I can call you or meet you at Jakes." What happened at the bridge scared her, but that didn't mean she wanted to distance herself from him. Jason was still her friend, and she wanted to help him in anyway she could. From what she learned from their encounter that morning, Jason left Sam and wasn't working for Sonny anymore. He really didn't have anything or anyone and she wasn't about to abandon him. She didn't want to bail.

Looking at her, Jason knew that he hadn't ruined anything. Elizabeth wasn't going to keep her distance, and for that he was glad. Dropping his hand while letting an easy smile form his face Jason put his hands in his pockets. "I don't have a phone right now. If I'm not at Jakes, I'll be at the coffee warehouse. I asked Sonny for a job there."

"You asked for a job? Jason, you are part owner."

"I know I just want to work." And it was as simple as that, there was no need to explain into great detail his reasoning. Either she understood, or she just accepted his reason for what it was.

"Ok. I have to go, my Grams is going to kill me once I pick up Cameron. Goodnight."

He waited for her to get into her car, start it, and pull away before he did the same. On his way back to Jakes, Jason realized that he was breaking his earlier promise to her. He wasn't going to the hospital, but rather back to Jakes, hoping to grab a beer and play a game of pool. The table was practically calling out to him.

Jason made a mental note to call Sonny the next morning. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about what happened earlier that day. It wasn't until Elizabeth was telling him about their past that Jason remembered the encounter they had with Manny Ruiz that morning.

* * *

"We've got a problem."

No greeting, not even a knock. Manny Ruiz just walked straight into Alcazar's living room like he lived there. What the hell were guards for if they just let anyone in without an announcement? "What?"

"I said we have a problem."

"I got that part. What is the problem?"

"Jason Morgan." Manny was still pissed off about the afternoon encounter he had with Miss Webber and Morgan. All he wanted to do was scare the woman enough so that she would run to her incompetent boyfriend and tell him about the incident. That way, Officer Shithead would come straight to Manny wanting to warn him against messing with the pretty little lady. That is what Manny had counted on, that way he could have made his own threats to Spencer. But no, instead of having his plan go through, Morgan showed up. Not only did he bring Manny to his knees, but he now knew that Manny had an interest in Elizabeth. Even though Morgan was supposed to be out of the business, Manny had just gotten word that the man had taken a job for Sonny. Nothing serious, but that meant Morgan still had connections to Corinthos.

"I saw Elizabeth Webber this afternoon on the docks. I went to her and we had a conversation. She's a pretty little thing. A man could get lost in her for hours."

"Enough! What happened?" Lorenzo's patience was running out with the Miami mobster. The Ruiz brother's were the worst mistake that Lorenzo could have made. His jealousy towards Sonny and his connection with Carly made him see red. Instead of thinking clearly, Lorenzo brought the Ruiz family to Port Charles, hoping that they would bring Corinthos down. He always knew that he shouldn't let his personal life interfere with the business. He was turning more and more into Luis everyday. Letting a woman rule his mind was Luis' way, not his. Lorenzo needed to get his priorities straight. Right now, his priority was bringing down Sonny Corinthos and becoming the most powerful mobster. He was just using Manny to get what he wanted.

Manny relayed to Alcazar the events from that afternoon. Approaching Elizabeth, having the woman scared, and then Jason Morgan showing up and interrupting his plan. Ruiz also told Lorenzo how Jason took a job from Corinthos, working at the coffee warehouse.

"We need to take care of Spencer sooner than I wanted to. Sonny is becoming more of a threat and we need Tito out of jail before Corinthos has a chance to one up us."

"Or, we could forget about Tito and Spencer and just focus on bringing Sonny down."

"I told you last night Alcazar, I am not going to let my brother rot in jail because some pussy cop was able to get a cheap shot at him."

Walking over to the drink cart, Manny helped himself to a drink. Taking a long gulp of the burning liquid, Ruiz turned to Alcazar with a sadistic smirk across his lips. "If you choose to go against me and leave my brother in jail," shrugging his shoulders to emphasize his point, Manny finished off his drink, "then I will have no choice but to pay a little visit to Rose Lawn. I heard they just got a nice addition to the crazy family. A one, Mrs. Caroline Alcazar."

The next thing Manny knew, he had his back pinned against the wall as Alcazar held his shirt between two fists, "You go anywhere near Carly, and I will kill you."

"Anything happens to me, and you can kiss your wife and life goodbye. My father made that clear when you went to him for help." Extracting himself from Alcazars grip, Manny continued, "Help me take down Spencer and get Tito out of jail, and you will have nothing to worry about."

The man was pissing Alcazar off with each passing second. But he was right. When he went to Miami and talked to Manny's father, the man made it clear that if he crossed them, all hell would break loose. Poring himself a much needed drink, Alcazar turned to Ruiz and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Sucking his teeth, Manny placed his hands in his pockets and placed his all known evil smile on his face, "We kill Spencer."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

His light blue shirt clung to him as sweat dripped down his back. His attempts to tug at the bottom of the shirt hoping to release it from sculpting to his body were futile. No matter how many times he tugged, it went right back to clinging to his sweaty body, sculpting to his chest and torso. Little drops of water full with salt continued to drip into his eyes making them burn. His jeans were acting as his legs personal sauna as they trapped in the heat making the hairs on his legs singe.

It was a hot day.

Walking towards the coffee warehouse, Jason wanted nothing more than to drop the ten pound coffee bag that was hoisted over his shoulder just so that he could rip his shirt off and have some relief from the heat of the day. His strides became larger as he felt a drop of sweat slide from his hairline, through each crevice of his scrunched forehead, and land right on an eyelash, just waiting to spill into his eye. Finally making it to his destination, Jason scrubbed at his face wiping away the sheen of moister that developed during his last trip from the coffee crate to the warehouse.

As he turned around to survey his surrounding area he felt a wave of relief wash over him as he noticed there was only one more bag of coffee to unload from that morning's shipment. Lifting the bottom of his shirt he looked for a dry spot but finding none. Shrugging one shoulder, Jason lifted the shirt to his face and scrubbed.

He had been working at the Corinthos-Morgan Coffee Warehouse for the past four days. Sonny had wanted him to work in the building, doing paperwork and having his own office, but Jason had refused. He didn't want to be cramped up in an office with black letters spelling "Morgan" on the glass window of his door. He wanted to work. Sonny had just suggested it but once he saw the look in Jason's eyes he knew that it was no use.

Jason could tell that Sonny was trying his best to regain his friendship. For the past four days since he started working, Sonny had shown up everyday making sure everything was ok. At first Jason thought it was normal for the owner to make an appearance everyday, but when he heard two other men discussing how off it was to see their boss everyday he knew that Sonny was checking up on him. It didn't bother Jason as much as he thought it would have. He didn't mind their talks and was starting to realize that Sonny was not as bad as he first thought.

It had been four days since he started to work at the warehouse and start a small friendship with his former best friend. And it had been four days since he saw Elizabeth. Shaking his head as he lifted the last bag over his shoulder and began his short trip back to the warehouse, he let his mind wander to the woman who invaded his thoughts for the past four days.

The last time he saw her was the night they went to the bridge where she told him about a time in their past, where he almost kissed her. He would have thought that she was avoiding him, but he knew that was not true. She had called Jakes the next night and left a message for him to give her a call whenever he got a chance. After finally getting a new phone where only Sonny knew the number, he called her giving the number to her also. They only talked for a brief moment where she told him that she was going to be swamped for the next couple of days with work. She called him again the night before checking up on him. She also let him know how disappointed she was that he broke his promise to her that he would go to the hospital and let his doctors know that he was experiencing harsh headaches. Although he felt guilty at breaking his promise to her, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was checking up on him and was worried about him. It made him feel good to know she cared about him. He was quick to reassure her that he hadn't had any headaches in the past couple of days and that he would talk to his doctors when he had to go in for another treatment in two days.

Even though his days were occupied with working and his nights were spent playing pool or riding his bike, Jason realized that he had missed her. The two phone calls they shared over the past four days were a comfort to him but it didn't put out the urge he had to see her. It still confused him that after only spending two days with her he started to rely on her so much. But he did, and even though he couldn't explain it, he wanted to see Elizabeth as much as he could.

Dropping the coffee bag, Jason was pulled from his thoughts when a familiar voice spoke from behind him, "Jason."

Turning around to face his visitor, Jason had to hide an amused smile at the sight of Sonny Corinthos standing out in the warehouse full of sweaty men wearing jeans and shirts while he wore his expensive suit and shinny shoes.

"Hey."

"I uh… I have some more information on Manny Ruiz."

Sonny looked nervous approaching Jason. He felt bad that the older man felt so uneasy around him but once he mentioned the man who had approached Elizabeth all thoughts of easing his friends nerves left Jason's mind. The morning after his ride with Elizabeth, Jason called Sonny and told him about the events of the day. Sonny had explained to him that because of the threat that Manny posed on him he had been watching the man since his arrival at Port Charles. Sonny had never seen him around Elizabeth but could only guess his interest in her was because of her fiancé Lucky.

During their phone conversation that morning, Sonny had assured Jason that he would have someone keep an eye out for Elizabeth and that he would let him know if anything happened. Every time he saw Sonny the other man never mentioned anything about Ruiz but now that he was coming to him with information on the man, Jason's mind began to race. Crossing his arms over his sweaty shirt, Jason waited for the other man to continue on.

"We should take this in my office."

Not needing any further explanation, Jason followed Sonny as he led him into the building and up the stairs that led to the two offices. Shutting the door behind him as they entered Sonny's office, Jason crossed his arms again and looked at his boss waiting for the news.

Sonny sat down at his desk with a heavy sigh. As he looked up at his friend and former enforcer he couldn't help but recognize the look in Jason's eyes. It was the same look he always used when the two of them discussed business. Sonny didn't want to get his hopes up but he couldn't hold back the small glimmer that appeared when he thought that maybe Jason wasn't as done with the business as he had thought.

"I've had more men watching every move that Manny Ruiz has made. Over the past couple of days he has been seen at Lorenzo Alcazars house numerous times. Apparently Alcazar is the reason that Ruiz is even in Port Charles." Sonny's temper was rising with aggravation of the thought of Alcazar bringing in the newest threat. Sonny was sure that Alcazar brought in the Ruiz family as a way to bring him down and away from Carly.

Jason recognized the name Alcazar as the same man Sonny had discussed with him several nights before, but he couldn't figure out why Sonny was telling him this. "What does this have to do with Manny approaching Elizabeth?"

"I haven't been able to have someone place a bug in Alcazars place. His security is too tight. But one of my men was able to hear a conversation on the docks between Manny and Alcazar. He didn't hear much, but they were discussing Lucky Spencer-"

"Elizabeth's fiancé."

Rubbing his chin, Sonny studied Jason for a moment before he continued on, ignoring the bitterness that had just appeared in Jason's voice as he spoke. "Yeah." Sighing, Sonny stood up and walked around his desk. He leaned against it as he tilted his head to the side, "Lucky is the key witness to the shoot out that happened at my house a week ago. Tito was shot because of Lucky and he is facing prison time if Lucky is able to testify. Manny is most likely using Elizabeth to scare Lucky off. But because of you that didn't work, so now he is probably planning something bigger with Alcazar."

Hooking his hand behind his neck, Jason dipped his head as he took in all of what Sonny was saying. Lifting his head to the ceiling, he shook it and closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about what could happen. Dropping his hand as he stared straight at Sonny he asked, "Do you think he will come after Elizabeth again?"

"I'm not sure. Manny is a sick bastard. There is no telling what he will do."

"I'm going to talk to Elizabeth about what happened. Maybe…" Trailing off, Jason thought about how to approach the subject. He had nothing to do with the life, yet all of his instincts were telling him that he was right. He needed to go with his gut feeling. "Maybe you could have one of your people guard Elizabeth until you figure out what to do with Manny."

The little glimmer of hope that was building up inside of Sonny at the beginning of their discussion began to grow with each passing second he discussed Ruiz and Alcazar with Jason. He didn't want to push it but he said it anyway, "Why don't you guard her."

Sonny didn't know if he had pushed too hard, but once he saw that Jason was actually considering the idea, he knew that he didn't. Holding his breath until Jason spoke, he let it out trying to hide his disappointment when Jason spoke.

"I don't think that is a good idea."

"Alright, I'll put someone on her as a permanent guard. Do you want her to know she is being guarded?"

Jason looked at the older man with confusion behind his eyes before he really thought about it. He really didn't know if Elizabeth would want a guard but he didn't feel safe with her being alone most of the time while Manny was out there causing trouble. "I'll talk to her about it and then I'll let you know. Until you hear from me just uh… just make sure her guard keeps out of sight."

"Ok man, I'll do that." Taking in the younger mans sweaty and tired appearance Sonny asked as he jutted his chin out, "You done for the day?"

Nodding his head, Jason placed his hands on his hips, "Thank you... for everything."

As Jason turned to walk out of his office Sonny placed his hand over his jaw as he looked to the floor and nodded.

* * *

Elizabeth was beat. She didn't think that she had any energy left in her body. For the past four days she practically lived at the hospital. She worked her very first double shift and then after only four hours of sleep she found herself right back at the hospital starting another shift. When she had signed on to become a nurse she really had no idea that she would be signing over her life.

The last sign of any life that she had was the bike ride that she took with Jason. After she left Jason that night she headed straight to her Grams house dreading the fight that was about to occur. As she picked Cameron up, she expected to get another lecture from her grandmother but the older woman surprised her. She asked how her talk with Lucky went and then told her goodnight as Elizabeth carried a sleeping Cameron to her car. When she had arrived home she found the apartment empty. After lying Cameron down for the night, she walked into her living room only to have Lucky enter with take-out from Eli's for the both of them.

When he greeted her with a kiss that night, Elizabeth couldn't help but frown at their embrace of lips. At one time it held so much fire and love, but when his lips descended upon hers that night, she didn't feel that spark that usually occurred.

Shaking the thought from her mind, Elizabeth stretched out further on the couch as she tried to get more comfortable. Just as her eyes closed and sleep began to take over she heard the loud wailing of her one year old son. Although her body felt so weak, the nurturing mother in her could not let her baby continue to cry for another moment. Trying to get up, she quickly realized that her growing stomach made it harder for her to sit up.

"Just a second Cam, mommy's coming."

Rolling to the side she finally managed to extract her tired body from the couch and rush towards her crying son. As she entered his room, all signs of a mid-afternoon nap where gone from his cherub face that was red and wet with his tears. Running her finger down her son's face as he looked up at her Elizabeth lost her breath as she saw her sons love for her. She would never get tired of knowing that Cameron Webber was the light of her life.

She placed her hands underneath his armpits as he raised his arms out to her from his crib. Picking him up and cradling his growing body to her, she rubbed his head with soothing stokes, hoping to calm him down. Although Cameron calmed under his mothers touch he continued to cry as he clung to her. She knew he wasn't hungry, wet, or needy. She knew this cry. When Cameron was younger, Elizabeth would always take him for walks letting him feel wind against his face as she pushed his stroller. His expressive eyes would take in everything from his surroundings as she would push his stroller along the dock, in the park, or even in the mall. Cameron was an adventurous child and he hated to be in one spot for too long. Adding a bounce to her step as she walked her son around the living room Elizabeth didn't even try to contain her smile as she thought that her son was just like his mother. She took pride in that.

"Alright honey, it's ok. I know what you want."

At the sound of his mother's soft voice, Cameron began to calm even more as Elizabeth pulled open the closet door right by the entrance to their apartment and pulled out his stroller.

They were going for a walk.

* * *

Hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants, Jason walked through the park with slow strides. After leaving work earlier that afternoon he went back to his room at Jake's to shower and change. He took a long hot shower to ease his aching muscles and then changed into a black shirt, dark jean pants, and his motorcycle boots. He tried to start a game of pool but began to feel restless.

Jason began to make his way towards the back stairs of Jake's to grab his leather jacket but remembering his earlier experience with the heat that day he turned around and headed towards the entrance of Jake's instead.

He mounted onto his bike and instead of riding for hours like he had during his previous rides he ended up at the park. As many times before in the past couple of days, he let his mind wander towards Elizabeth. After receiving the news from Sonny about Ruiz, Jason knew that he had to talk to Elizabeth about the man. He never had a chance to ask her about what Manny had wanted when he found them on the docks that morning and it was about time he asked.

He stopped in the middle of the walkway in the park and reached in his back pocket for his phone. He pressed the "ok" button once her name was high lighted on his phone and brought it to his ear. Lifting his head he removed his phone from his ear and pressed the end button when he saw her. There was no need to call Elizabeth, she was walking towards him.

"Hey you."

Her smile spread when a smile of his own graced his face, "Hey yourself."

Stopping the stroller once she reached Jason, Elizabeth looked around and then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I was just thinking about you. I was going to call you and see if you wanted to get some lunch or something."

Something within him tugged at his stomach when she mentioned that she was thinking of him. Looking down at the little boy who was staring straight at him, Jason crouched down in front of the stroller and took the little boys small chubby hand in his, "You must be Cameron," chuckling when Cameron squeezed his hand and let out a squeal of excitement, Jason gently rubbed the back of the boys hand with his thumb. "Hey buddy, my name's Jason."

Elizabeth looked on with a small smile across her face as Jason introduced himself to her son. She would have interrupted and let Jason know that Cameron had already met him and heard many stories about him, but looking at the smile across Jason's face she didn't have the heart to interrupt.

"I'm a friend…" looking up at Elizabeth they locked eyes before Jason looked back down at Cameron and continued "I'm a friend of your mom's." Jason studied the little boy as he spoke to him. He was amazed with how much he saw Elizabeth in her son. He had a little dent in his chin just like she did, and his nose would scrunch in the adorable way hers would every so often. His eyes were a different color, but they were open and big, full of so much emotion, just like Elizabeth's were. When Cameron reached his arms out to Jason in an attempt to have the man pick him up, his chest became tight in a way he had never experienced before. Not taking his eyes off of the little boy, he cleared his throat and asked "Can I?"

"Of course you can." She moved to the front of the stroller trying to free Cameron from his straps so that Jason could pull him free. But as she went to place her hands on his strap, Jason's were already there unfastening it. Their hands brushed and their eyes locked when Elizabeth realized how close they were bending over Cameron's light blue toddler stroller.

Backing away once her gaze fell to his lips, she nervously bit her own tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Looks like you have it."

He lifted the boy with little effort and smiled as Cameron touched his cheek studying him for a moment before he tucked his head in the crook of Jason's neck. Walking over to the park bench, the both of them sat down as Jason rubbed soothing circles on Cameron's back feeling the soft material of his dark blue shirt that was matched with a pair of dark blue baby jeans. Jason looked down at the little boy in his arms and ran his finger down his plump cheek when he saw that the boy's eyes were closed.

"How is everything Jason?"

Tearing his attention away from the little boy in his arms he looked at the woman to his right and saw the concern in her expressive eyes. "Fine."

When she titled her head to the side and raised one shapely eyebrow, he sighed, shook his head once, and looked at her face, softening his own when he continued. "I haven't had any headaches." Her head lost its stubborn tilt as her hand found its way to his thigh.

Giving it an involuntary squeeze, not realizing what she was doing, she regarded him with concern. "I was worried about you."

He was looking down at her small hand on his jean clad thigh. When a runner past them, he looked up and realized how intimate they looked. To anyone who didn't know any better, they looked like a family with her hand lying comfortably on his thigh while he held her son. That tightness in his chest began to grow with that thought.

When Cameron stirred in his arms, hugging Jason tighter with his chubby arms, he closed his eyes and willed the unknowing feeling to leave. Swallowing thickly he looked back at Elizabeth and all thoughts of looking like a family left his mind when he remembered why he wanted to see her that afternoon before he accidentally ran into her and Cameron. "When I found you on the docks the other day with Manny Ruiz, what was going on?"

Removing her hand from his thigh as if she finally realized that she was gently stroking her thumb back and forth as he rubbed her sons back, she felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on the moment. "I…" Licking her lips in a nervous habit, Elizabeth thought of the question and closed her eyes at her own stupidity when she remembered that she still hadn't even told Lucky about the encounter with the mobster. Ending her personal berating session, she let out a slow breath and scrunched her forehead. "I'm not sure. I was walking along the docks on my way to Kelly's when he called out my name. He said that he wanted me to give a message to Lucky and when I went to walk away he grabbed my arm. When he got in my face you showed up. I don't know what he wanted me to say to Lucky." She looked back at Jason and recognized the look he had in his eyes. He was concentrating hard on something. When he looked back at her the look he had in his eyes flashed her back to a time when she was living in Jason's penthouse and he was dealing with the Alcazar issue. His eyes where set into a determined look and she knew that his mind was racing.

When he spoke, his vice was laced with the determination that his eyes were full of. "Manny is a dangerous man. He was trying to use you as a way to get to Lucky. I don't know if he will try anything else, but the next time he might use a different approach."

"Next time?"

His eyes softened when he saw the fear in her eyes. He hadn't meant to scare her, but when she confirmed that Manny approached her about Lucky something inside of him clicked and he voiced his thoughts. "I'm not trying to scare you." His reassurance did little to ease the fear in her eyes. "I talked to Sonny. Would you…" His chest rose as he prepared to ask his next question. Letting all of the air out of his lungs in one long breath, he placed his arm along the back of the bench turning his body more towards hers while he still cradled Cameron's sleeping form to his chest. "Would you let me put a guard on you?"

Elizabeth pressed her fingertips to her forehead as she closed her eyes and thought about what Jason had just told her. Dropping her hand she opened her mouth several times trying to think of something to say. Tipping her head back slightly and looking up at the sky she licked her lips and then answered. "I don't know. I need to talk to Lucky first. I haven't even told him about what happened."

"What? Why?" His hand had molded to her shoulder and just like she had before with his thigh, his thumb began to rub her shoulder from her neck to the curve of her shoulder and back again.

"I haven't really seen him. I have been at the hospital so much these past couple of days and when I am home I am either taking care of Cameron while he is at work, or I am trying to fit in as much sleep as possible."

He studied her as she rambled on. When she mentioned that she wasn't getting much sleep he took in the dark circles under her eyes and the painless of her skin. He berated himself for not realizing it earlier with the slowness of her movements. Standing up he took a hold of her hand and tugged her to her feet.

"What?" Looking around to see what caused Jason's sudden movements, she was pulled from her sweep of the park when he tugged her behind him, prompting her to follow him.

Easing Cameron into his stroller as to not wake him, Jason whispered in a soothing voice, "You need to get home, you look tired."

She was staring at him with questioning lingering in her eyes. She narrowed her eyes and then shrugged her shoulders as she placed her hands on Cameron's stroller, ready to part ways with Jason. When she opened her mouth to say goodbye he surprised her by moving away from the front of the stroller to her side where he placed his hand on the small of her back. "I'll walk you home."

Nothing else was said between them as they walked towards the entrance of the park and away from the lone figure that was hiding behind the trees far enough away that she couldn't hear anything between the two of them, but close enough that she could see every move they made. Every move that made them look like the perfect family she longed to have with Jason.

Wiping her cheeks that were wet with her tears, Sam walked in the opposite direction that Jason and Elizabeth had left from. Walking with brisk angry steps, Sam's face turned from a look of desperation to a look of pure hatred. As she left the park she had one destination in mind.

* * *

The entire walk home, Cameron remained soundly asleep. When they pushed through the front door of her apartment Elizabeth wanted to release of sigh of pleasure when she looked at her couch. It wasn't the most comfortable couch, but she was so tired that it looked like heaven.

Jason closed the door behind them as Elizabeth sat on her couch removing her shoes. A smirk reached his face when he heard a little mew of happiness escape her lips when her feet were free. He looked around her apartment that she shared with Lucky and even though he couldn't remember what it felt like, Elizabeth's home revealed a warmth to its visitor. It was small and full of baby toys, but it still felt like a home. His eyes traveled back to her when she stood up and walked towards him and the stroller that carried her sleeping baby.

When she walked towards him, she placed her hands behind her back pressing at her lower back. The movement caused her shirt to cling to her stomach and for the first time that day, Jason noticed the growing lump in her belly that revealed the child forming in her. On their walk home the tightness that pulled at his chest vanished, but when he took in her warm home and the sight of her growing stomach as she looked down at her son, it reappeared with a force he hadn't felt before.

Placing his hand over his chest while he rubbed at it softly he spoke up when she went to pick up her son. "I'll get him. Go sit on the couch and I'll be right back."

At the mention of her couch Elizabeth looked up at Jason and gave him an appreciative smile. Cameron weighed nothing, but her body was so weak she couldn't even lift up her own arms. "His room is right there." Pointing to the door behind Jason she continued with a smile, "You can try to put his blanket over him, but he will just kick it off once you turn around." She finished her sentence as she eased herself onto her couch.

Lifting Cameron from his stroller he walked towards the only room in the small apartment. Gently Jason lowered the boy into his crib. Placing the small blanket over his small body, Jason placed his large hand over the boy's small head and rubbed gently. Turning around and stepping quietly out of his room and into the living room, Jason eyes lit up with humor as he looked at a slumbering Elizabeth.

Her head was dropped to her side with her ear touching her shoulder. One hand was placed protectively over her expanding stomach while her other arm hung limply at her side. Jason walked over to her and picked her feet up positioning her body across the couch fully. Taking the yellow knitted afghan off the back of the couch he draped it across her body. Standing over her, one of his hands ran through her soft hair removing it from her face. When her full face came to view, Jason had to bring his hand back to his chest as he gazed upon her full lips that were formed into a pout. Lips he had almost kissed the other night on the bridge. Jason had to wonder if he had ever kissed those lips.

He walked to the front door of her apartment, ready to leave when a loud wail came from Cameron's room. His eyes quickly turned to Elizabeth as she stirred on the couch. Decision made in that moment, Jason quickly walked towards Cameron's room and picked the boy up in his arms. Cameron quieted down immediately and clung to Jason tight.

He walked the boy out of his room and into the living room trying to hold back a smile when he looked at Elizabeth and saw that she kicked the afghan off of her.

Jason sat down on the floor with Cameron in his lap and chuckled when the boy quickly removed himself from Jason's lap and crawled to the coffee table they sat in front of. When Cameron pulled himself up on his small chubby legs and looked at Jason with victory across his face both boys smiled when Jason said "Look's like it's just you and me for a while."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"I don't have time for you."

"You better make some time."

Back rigid with stress and annoyance, Lucky glanced over his shoulder as he continued with long strides back to his car. Giving her one look, he turned back around and dismissed her without a second thought, "Sam, I'm busy."

He had just made his way out of the courtyard of Kelly's and was on his way to his car when Sam had stopped him by yelling his name out. For a brief second he stopped to see who it was, and when he recognized her, he kept on with his venture to his car.

"Trust me; you want to hear what I have to tell you."

Sighing in defeat, Lucky turned back around to find Sam staring at him with her arms crossed under her chest and her lips formed in an angry pout. He leaned against the driver's side of his car, one leg propped against the door, while the other held him up. "Fine, what do you want?"

Letting a smile of victory cross her face, Sam sashayed her way towards Lucky, stopping right in front of him, leaving only an inch between the two. "I have something to tell you about your fiancé." When Lucky did nothing but raise his eyebrows in question, Sam continued. "She's cheating on you."

"What?"

"Well, maybe cheating isn't the right word, but she does have a wandering eye, or in her case, hand." The visual still pissed her off. Seeing Elizabeth and Jason in the park, him holding Cameron while she caressed his thigh, brought out all kinds of emotions for her. All Sam could think about was how it should have been her with Jason. Not Elizabeth.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I saw Elizabeth in the park today, and she wasn't alone."

Growing frustrated at her one sentence answers, Lucky dropped his arms away from his chest and looked at her with anger in his eyes. "Who was she with Sam?"

"Jason."

The leg that was propped against the side of his car door dropped back down to the ground with a thud. His expression turned from angry, to confusion, back to angry, and then finally to pure aggravation. What the hell was Elizabeth doing with Jason in the park? Lucky had remembered that he saw the two of them together that day in Kelly's. He really didn't think much of it then. He was confused at first, but he was so thrilled that he wasn't caught with Sam, that he had completely forgotten about his fiancé being there with her ex.

"What do you mean she was with Jason?"

"What do you think I mean?" Rolling her eyes to prove her annoyance, Sam placed her hands on her hips as she tilted her head to the side. "I saw Elizabeth and Jason at the park today and they looked _mighty_ cozy. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that they looked like the perfect family." Bitterness laced her voice as she spat out that last word.

Shaking his head, Lucky looked to his right and cursed. "What the hell where they doing together in the park?"

"I don't know, but we have to do something about it. They are getting to close. Before you know it-"

"Shut up."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

She turned around and began to walk away before Lucky's grip on her arm stopped her. "Why do you think something would happen?"

"What do you think?" When he continued to look at her with a confused expression, she took pity on him and continued. "Isn't it odd that after so long of not talking they are going to Kelly's together and ending up in the park together? Jason can't remember who he is and he doesn't trust anyone, yet every time I see him, your fiancé isn't that far behind. You know their past-"

Dropping his hand from her arm, Lucky backed away from her, "They were just friends."

Sam brought her hand up to Lucky's cheek and patted it like she pitied him. "I may not have been around when Jason and Elizabeth were friends, and Jason never told me about them, but I have heard things. As a matter of fact, most of the information I have received was from Elizabeth herself. Funny how that works out, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you getting at Sam?" She still had her hand on his cheek, but Lucky quickly swatted it away when he heard a passing car looking for a spot.

"All I am saying is that you should keep a close eye on your fiancé and try to keep her away from mine."

Smirking, Lucky placed his hands on his hips and towered over her. "That's funny; the last I heard, Jason threw your ass out. Or rather, he walked out on you." Lifting her left hand to look at her fingers, Lucky tsked, "Where's your ring Sam?"

Yanking her hand away from Lucky, Sam's previous expression of taunting quickly became replaced with anger. "Shut up!" Pointing a finger in his face, she continued "Just keep Elizabeth away from Jason, or else…"

"Or else what?"

"Or else I will have to personally tell her how you spent your night away from home." Moving closer to Lucky, Sam placed her hand upon his chest as she pushed her body against his. "Don't you remember throwing me against the wall as you ripped my shirt off, kissing me all over, throwing me on your bed at Kelly's? Does that-"

"Alright!" He pulled her closer making their noses touch, "Just shut the hell up. Do you want people to know about what happened?"

Being this close to him was doing things to Sam. Her mind flashed back to the night they had slept together and all of the pleasurable things Lucky did to her. Snapping back to reality, Sam pulled herself from his grip. "No! I… I just need to get Jason back, and I need you to help me. Just keep Elizabeth happy and away from Jason, and we should both be fine. No one will ever find out about what happened between us."

With that, Sam turned around and walked back towards Kelly's, all the while feeling his eyes on her.

Lucky watched her go and couldn't help but let his eyes wander over her retreating form. For the past four days his memory of the night kept coming back to him in bits and pieces. He still didn't remember the entire night, but from what he could recall, he and Sam were on fire that night. Even though they were filthy drunk, Lucky couldn't help but think about how enjoyable that night was.

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind with an angry shake of his head, Lucky turned back around to his car. Yanking the door open, he sat behind the wheel, started the car, and pulled out of Kelly's parking lot. Instead of turning left in the direction of the police station, making his way to work, he turned right.

He was heading to his apartment.

As much as he didn't want to think about it, what Sam had said struck a nerve. Elizabeth and Jason had been close at one time. _Really _close. So close that it had almost ruined Lucky's relationship with Elizabeth at one time. But Elizabeth had been so loyal to him at that time that she didn't give into her need to be with Jason.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Lucky slammed on his breaks as he approached a red light. Jason had been such a thorn in his side back then. Every time he turned around he was right there with Elizabeth. She had lied to him when Jason came back to town; she even admitted that she had feelings for the man.

Pushing down on the gas a littler harder than he intended to as the light turned green, Lucky's anger began to grow. Even though Jason had left town, his and Elizabeth's relationship ended many months later. It didn't end because of Jason, but when the man had come back to town nearly two years later, Elizabeth fell right back into routine with Jason.

But then they ended.

Jason moved on with Courtney and Elizabeth moved on with Ric. She had told Lucky that Jason hurt her and she could never be with him. Lucky could still remember the hurt he saw enter her eyes when Jason showed up at Vista Pointe with Courtney. There was also that time when he showed up at Luke's and pulled her aside. Lucky didn't know what they talked about, but he could tell that Elizabeth had cut all ties with Jason that night.

She never talked to him about her relationship with Jason after that. Lucky and Elizabeth had grown apart when she got involved with Ric. They didn't talk that much, but he did know that she and Jason had completely lost touch with their friendship at that time. Making a sharp turn, Lucky held onto that thought. Jason and Elizabeth had grown very far apart, they hardly ever talked. Sam could not be right when she said they looked like the perfect family in the park that day.

They had grown apart.

They hardly spoke to each other.

Jason had also lost his memory.

He had seen the two of them together in Kelly's four days ago.

Pressing his foot against the gas even harder, Lucky had to make it home to see Elizabeth. He didn't want to believe that they had regained their friendship, but there was still that voice that screamed in the back of his head.

He had also lost his friendship with Elizabeth at one time, but they had found their way back together. They were now engaged and living together, planning to raise a family. Swearing under his breath, Lucky didn't want to think that maybe, just maybe, Elizabeth and Jason had also found their way back to each other as friends again.

Nothing good ever came out of the two of them being friends.

* * *

The sound of her son's laughter woke her up.

Blinking several times to rid her eyes of sleep, Elizabeth turned her head and took in the scene before her. A huge smile graced her lips as she looked at her son taking small steps towards Jason. For several minutes, she watched as Cameron would grip onto the coffee table, let go of it, take several shaky steps towards Jason, and then fling himself into Jason's arms once he made it towards the man. Jason would pick Cameron up with a smile on his face, lift him high above his head, and then place him back down near the coffee table to repeat the process.

It warmed Elizabeth's heart to hear her son's joyous laughter and see such a bright smile on Jason's face as he bounced the boy in the air a few times before placing him back down. Elizabeth studied Jason and was amazed with the amount of patience he was showing with Cameron. Watching her son take more shaky steps towards Jason caused something within Elizabeth to pull. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but when she looked at Jason's smiling eyes as he gazed at her son, a heavy weight was added to the pulling. Trying to figure out exactly what she was feeling, Elizabeth continued to watch as Cameron made it to Jason again and squealed with delight as Jason threw him in the air.

The heavy weight in her stomach only grew heavier as she took in the scene more and more. Her son was walking-

Shooting straight up in the couch, Elizabeth startled Jason and Cameron, "Oh my God!"

Hugging Cameron to himself, Jason came to her side with concern etched all over his face, "What? What's wrong?"

"I can't believe it." Trying her best to get off of her couch, Elizabeth kicked the blanket away from her feet as she pulled Cameron out of Jason's arms. "He's… oh my god, he was walking!"

Relief washed over Jason as Elizabeth cooed over her son. "He was just walking around the coffee table holding onto it and then he just walked towards me. He fell down a couple of times before he actually made it to me, but he kept trying."

Looking up at Jason with a huge smile across her face, Elizabeth threw her free arm around his neck and gave him a tight hug before she pulled away. "I have been so worried about him not walking yet. The doctors said that it was normal that he wasn't walking yet, but I still worried. Every time I tried to get him to come to me, he never would let go of the coffee table, but now look at my big guy." Giving Cameron a huge kiss on his cheek, the little boy squirmed out of her hold reaching for Jason.

Laughing, Elizabeth placed her son in Jason's arms without hesitation. "He really likes you. You must have won him over with your charm."

Blushing under Elizabeth's playful scrutiny of him, Jason walked back to the other side of the coffee table. Crouching down with Cameron in his arms, Jason set the boy on the floor but kept a light grip around his waist.

Elizabeth followed suit, placing herself across from Jason, leaving a small space between the two, allowing Cameron enough room to walk towards her. Stretching her arms out, Elizabeth smiled at her son and encouraged him, "Come here Cameron."

Placing one wobbly foot in front of the other, Cameron bravely stepped out of Jason's arms and walked towards his mother. The entire time Cameron wobbled his way towards Elizabeth, Jason kept his hands out just in case Cameron fell. Once he was safely in front of his mother, Jason watched as Cameron flew his chubby arms around Elizabeth's neck and hugged her. Jason couldn't help but let a small boyish smile cross his lips as a huge smile appeared on Elizabeth's face.

"Good job!" Giving her son a kiss, Elizabeth turned him around and placed him back on his feet. Cameron's small hands gripped onto his mother's hands that were holding onto his waist until he let go and wobbled his way back towards Jason, hugging him with as much intensity as he hugged Elizabeth.

For several minutes, Cameron walked back and forth between Jason and Elizabeth, strengthening his legs each time he made the venture from one to the other. Cameron was making his way back towards Jason again when Elizabeth felt something push against her stomach. It wasn't until Cameron threw himself into Jason's arms yet again, that Elizabeth shot up from her crouched position and clutched her stomach with a look of pained expression on her face. "Ow!"

Shooting up with Cameron in his arms, Jason quickly strode towards Elizabeth. "What's-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Elizabeth grabbed onto his hand and placed it against her stomach. Another push was made against her stomach as Elizabeth's wide eyes connected with Jason's equally wide ones. "Do you feel that?"

Squinting, Jason felt Elizabeth's stomach move again under his hand. "Is that… is that the baby?"

A watery smile appeared on her face as she shook her head with glee. "Yes. This is the first time that-"

"What the hell is going on?"

Looking around Jason's broad frame, Elizabeth still had her hand over his on her stomach as she saw Lucky standing in the doorway of their apartment. Her expression that was just filled with amazement and happiness turned to confusion as she took in Lucky's angry stance.

"Lucky, hey, I didn't expect you to be home so early." Dropping her hand from Jason's, Elizabeth moved around him and went to greet her fiancé. When Jason turned around with a stony mask over his face, his eyes connected with Lucky's and his grip around Cameron unintentionally tightened.

"I can see that."

His comment made Elizabeth stop right in front of Jason. Lucky looked at them as he slammed the door to their apartment shut making Cameron jump in Jason's arms. The way they stood-Elizabeth slightly in front of Jason, him standing behind her in a protective manner as he held Cameron-made Lucky's anger grow. They looked like the perfect family.

Elizabeth's eyebrows lowered and a frown appeared on her face as she regarded Lucky, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring her question, Lucky crossed his arms over his chest and did his best to glare at the man behind his fiancé. Jason met his stare head on making Lucky look away and towards Elizabeth, asking a question of his own. "What the hell is Jason doing here."

Looking over her shoulder at the man behind her, Elizabeth gave him an apologetic look before she turned back to look at Lucky, "Lucky, I don't know-"

"What is Jason doing in our home Elizabeth?" His tone grew louder making Elizabeth take a small step back before she tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Lucky's volume. Placing a hand up to stop Jason once she felt him move forward, Elizabeth ignored Lucky and turned around fully to face Jason.

"I am so terribly sorry and embarrassed right now. But I really need to talk to Lucky."

"You'll be ok?"

When she heard Lucky's grunt of anger, Elizabeth looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Lucky before she turned back around and softened her face when she began to talk to Jason again.

"I'll be fine, thank you." Lowering her voice, she took Cameron out of his arms, "I'll call you later."

Nodding his head just once, Jason ran a hand down Cameron's head as the boy reached for him again, "Ok."

Walking around Elizabeth, Jason placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before he walked past her and towards the door Lucky stood in front of. Neither man said a word to the other, but once Lucky moved out of the way Jason placed his hand on the doorknob ready to leave before Cameron's cry stopped him. Turning around, Jason soft eyes looked at Cameron's tear filled ones as the boy cried and reached out to him. Hesitating before he walked out of the door, Jason looked at Elizabeth and saw the sadness in her eyes as she soothed her crying son. Finally Jason stepped out of the apartment and shook his head as he heard Cameron's cries grow louder.

Back inside the apartment, Elizabeth glared at Lucky as she bounced her son on her hip, trying her best to ignore his cries as he still reached out for Jason. "That was uncalled for Lucky."

Lucky shook his head at her before he moved closer and attempted to pull Cameron out of her arms. The boy's cries quieted down a bit, but once Lucky reached for him, he shook his head and buried it in his mother's neck. A look of hurt passed over Lucky's face before he walked around her and threw his keys on the coffee table, making his way towards the kitchen.

Placing Cameron down on the floor by his toys, Elizabeth straightened once Lucky walked out of the kitchen with a beer in his hand. The swinging doors made a loud crash against the wall as he pushed them open, and they swung back and forth several times before they stilled. Stopping in front of her, Lucky cocked his head to the side, "What's going on Elizabeth, why was Jason here?"

Crossing her arms under her chest, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders as she tipped her head to the side, "What? Am I not allowed to have friends over Lucky? If that-"

Swearing, Lucky spun around and walked towards the couch. Plopping down with his elbows on his knees, he placed his beer on the coffee table and twirled it around between his forefinger and thumb. "That's not what I…" huffing, Lucky looked back at her, standing in the same spot. "Since when did Jason become your friend again?"

She dropped her hands down to her sides and let the palms of her hands slap her thighs. "What is this really about Lucky?"

"I just didn't know that you and Jason were friends again. Excuse me for being a little upset walking into my apartment seeing Jason holding Cameron while you held his hand to your stomach."

Her eyes softened at his defeated tone. Walking towards him, she sat next to him on the couch but didn't touch him. "Lucky, Jason is going through a hard time right now. He can't remember anything and I am just trying to be a friend to him. He doesn't really have anyone right now."

Elizabeth watched on as anger began to make its way back into Lucky's eyes. "What about Sam and Sonny? Why does he have to hang around you? I don't like it-"

"Sorry to break it to you Lucky, but I am my own person and you can hate it all you want to but Jason is my friend."

"Sure as hell didn't look that way when I walked in."

Moving further away from him on the couch, Elizabeth looked at her son playing on the floor before she turned her annoyed eyes back to Lucky, "What is that supposed to mean Lucky?"

Taking a long pull from his beer, Lucky slammed in back on the table before he turned his attention back to Elizabeth and spoke to her with angry words. "He looked to comfortable in here with you Elizabeth. He was holding Cameron, standing awfully close to you-"

"That's because I wanted him to feel the baby kick-"

He continued on as if she had never spoken, "Something isn't right Elizabeth, the way he looked at you, it was like he didn't want to leave. It kind of reminds me of the way he used to look at you when we were together during that whole Face of Deception thing."

Standing up from the couch, Elizabeth moved towards Cameron. Turning back around, she placed a comforting hand on her growing belly. "Lucky, you are being ridiculous. Jason is just my friend. He needs me right now and-"

"I don't want you hanging around with him."

In a deathly calm voice Elizabeth looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Excuse me?"

Standing up, Lucky crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her as she stood on the opposite side of the coffee table. He spoke as if his words mad the most sense in the world. "I don't trust Jason, he is no good for you Elizabeth. I don't want you to see him."

"That's not your call to make."

"Yes it is!" Raising his hand, Lucky pointed to his chest "I am your fiancée Elizabeth, I think I have a right to tell you who I do and do not like you being around."

"Your right, you are my fiancé, and you can _voice_ your concerns about who I see. But you have no right to _tell_ me who I can and cannot see."

Moving his hands to his hips, Lucky glared at her. "So that's it, you are going to ignore my feelings and still see Jason even though I told you not to."

"Would you listen to yourself!" Throwing her hands in the air, Elizabeth turned away from him, too annoyed to look at him. Turning back around, she saw Lucky take a step back at the fury that entered her eyes. "I am not some kid that has to obey your orders Lucky."

"I'm not giving you orders, I'm just telling you to stay away from Jason."

"What the hell do you call that?"

"Elizabeth, Jason is too dangerous to be around. And look at what happened before. The man can never just be your friend, he will use your friendship and your loyalty against you and-"

"Jason has never used me." The words were spoken with a threatening tone making Lucky pause.

"No? What about before when we were together and he used you to stay in your studio. Or what about when you lived with him and he lied to you and then ended up in bed with Courtney."

Closing her eyes, Elizabeth gritted her teeth together as she shook her head, "Do not talk about stuff that you know nothing about. Yes, Jason and I have had hard times through our friendship, but do not try to degrade my friendship with him to make your self feel better."

"What friendship?" Walking around the coffee table, Lucky placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to make her reason with him. "You told me yourself how much Jason hurt you and how you didn't know him anymore."

"I was hurt at that time Lucky."

Backing away from her, Lucky looked at her with fury. "Why is it so hard for you to not be friends with Jason. Why? Why are you letting him back into our lives?"

"I told you, Jason is my friend and I am not going to turn my back on him when he needs me."

"Even if it will cost you us?"

Elizabeth stared at Lucky, really stared at him. Their eyes were connected and she did nothing to hide the hurt in hers. "What?"

He didn't make any move to comfort her when he continued. "Jason always has this way of getting in between us, are you really willing to sacrifice us just so that you can be his friend."

"Are you giving me an ultimatum Lucky?"

"Treat it how you want to Elizabeth. All I am saying is that Jason will find a way to rip us apart. He will use your trust in him against you."

She looked at Lucky for a long time before she picked Cameron up and grabbed her purse off of the coffee table. "You really do think that little of me don't you? I thought we settled this when you told me Jax would use my nativity against me, but I guess we didn't." Giving Lucky one last look, Elizabeth turned around, "Jason doesn't have to do anything to rip us apart. You're doing a damn fine job of doing that yourself Lucky."

As she made her way to the door, Lucky called out to her. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Not even turning around to look at him, Elizabeth opened the door and stepped outside, "Out."

And with that she slammed the door and was gone.

* * *

The phone rang three times before the other man answered it. "What?"

"I need one of your men to meet me down by the Elm Street Pier."

A heavy sigh was heard on the other end before the other man asked, "What for?"

A sinister smile graced Manny's face as he looked out at the water. "Our little plan has been moved up a bit. I just got some interesting information today that might make it a little less messy for us."

Manny heard another annoyed sigh on the other end of the phone before Alcazar spoke again. "Tell me what is going on first, and then I'll send someone out there."

"I overheard a conversation between Officer Spencer and a woman named Sam. Apparently they had something going on the other night and the woman is threatening to tell Spencer's girl about it. I'm planning on going to pay him a little visit today."

Pacing the length of the docks, Manny continued. "I figure if I can _persuade_ him to change his testimony, then maybe we don't need take such drastic measures."

"Then why do you need me to send one of my men?"

Laughing, Manny stopped his pacing, "If Lucky doesn't want to listen to me, than we will just have to go back to the original plan. We kill him."


	11. Chapter 11

Life's Lemons 11

She hadn't been here since… since Cameron was conceived. It all looked the same. It didn't matter that someone else owned the bar; Jakes held the same atmosphere as it did when she first started going there. Nothing changed, and Elizabeth had to admit that she liked that. Liked the fact that everything was the same, from the pool tables right down to the dark appearance the bar gave off. Breathing in, Elizabeth placed a hand over her stomach and was happy that one thing had changed. Smoking was banned in all business that served food, making it acceptable for Elizabeth to enter Jakes in her state of being pregnant.

When she rushed out of her apartment and away from Lucky, she had no intentions of going to Jakes. But after she spent half an hour at her grandmother's house, she couldn't take it any longer. She kept asking Elizabeth what was going on with her and Lucky. Why would she leave their home? Why was she trying to ruin the family she was building with him? She thanked her grams for letting her come by without announcement, asked her if she could watch Cameron for a couple of hours and left. Her grams was more than happy to watch her favorite grandson, probably, Elizabeth thought, because her grams thought Elizabeth was going back home to work it out with Lucky.

After she slowly climbed into her car due to her ever growing belly, Elizabeth turned it on and headed away from her Grams house with no destination in mind. Or so she thought.

Instead of driving around like she had planned on, she ended up in the parking lot of Jakes. She wasn't going to get out of her car, but once she spotted his bike, she gingerly climbed out of her car and walked towards the entrance.

Her eyes scanned the bar looking for him, and when she saw him with his back leaning over a pool table, Elizabeth allowed herself to study him. He moved around the table with as much ease and grace as she remembered. It didn't matter that Jason had no memories of the past; he still acted and moved the same. As he leaned over the table to make his final shot, Elizabeth let her eyes lower and linger on his backside. She may have been an engaged woman, but she could never deny that Jason had one of the nicest butts she had ever seen.

Writing her thoughts off as hormones, Elizabeth walked towards his table, careful to not jar him until he made his shot. Once the eight ball sank into the corner pocket, she spoke up. "Hey."

Not knowing that someone was behind him, Jason turned around quickly bumping into Elizabeth, almost causing her to fall down. "Whoa." Wrapping his arms around her, Jason steady her against him then released her once she got her footing. "You ok?

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Elizabeth dipped her head once before she looked back up at Jason, embarrassment marring her face, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you."

Smirking, Jason crossed his arms over his chest and looked her up and down, sizing her up, "You didn't scare me."

"Oh you are such a guy." Smacking him lightly across the chest, Elizabeth moved around him and picked up a cue stick. "I might not have scared you, but you were startled. You turned around so fast you almost knocked me over."

"Sorry about that."

Waving a hand in the air, she dismissed it, "Its ok. Just admit that you were surprised."

Jason placed both of his hands on the edge of the pool table. Tipping his head to the side, a sparkle appeared in his eyes. "Yes, I'm surprised to see you here. But you didn't scare me, or _startle_ me." Jason watched as she let a light laughter escape her. She walked around the pool table, and began to prepare it for a new game. "You play?"

"Not really. I haven't played in a long time. Actually, the last time that I played was with you."

"Me?"

"It was a long time ago." A sad look appeared across her face as she leaned her hip against the pool table. "You were the one who taught me how to play."

"Was that the last time you played? When I taught you?"

"No. No, you taught me how to play a long time ago, maybe even another life time." When her eyes met Jason's, she saw confusion mixed in with curiosity. Pointing to the pool table, Elizabeth asked, "You want to play a game. I could… I could tell you more about… us."

Jason walked over to the rack and pulled a pool stick from it. Looking into her dark orbs, his own appeared to have a new sparkle in them, "I'd like that." For a moment, they just stared at each other. Something tight began to form in his chest as he continued to stare at her. It tugged even tighter when a small smile appeared on her face causing him to fight to breathe. Every time he was a around her new emotions would serge through him. He didn't know where they came from or how to control them, they just happened. At first he tried to write it off as just being around her. He wasn't letting anyone else in but her, and of course he would have building feelings for her. But the more time he spent with her, the more he began to realize that it wasn't true. He had strong feelings for Elizabeth, and they only grew more intense the more he spent time with her.

Clearing his throat, Jason looked away from her and motioned to the pool table. "Do you want to break?"

She took in a large gulp of air as she tried to regain her composure. It didn't matter what state their friendship was in, every time Jason looked at her, really looked, everything would fade away except for him. When they first became friends, when she was having mixed feelings about him and Lucky, when they finally decided to be together, even when she was married to Ric and claimed to hate Jason, all he had to do was look into her eyes and nothing else mattered. After going so long with not talking to him, Elizabeth thought that would have changed. But she thought wrong. Laughing, Elizabeth placed a hand high on her chest and let her index finger play with the dip in her neck, "You know, I better break, I might as well get some shots in before you do. 'Cause I know once you start, the game will be over."

"I'll go easy on you."

"Oh no you don't. Don't take pity on me. Besides, I just need some time to warm up." Leaning over the table, Elizabeth lined up her shot and hit the white pool ball making it hit the other balls. The balls scattered across the pool table, and one solid red ball made it into a pocket. "Oh yay! I did it!" Turning her bright eyes filled with joy toward Jason, she pointed a mocking finger at him. "See, I'm not that bad."

All Jason did in return was give her a lopsided grin as he watched her circle the pool table, looking for her next shot. He could easily see three shots that could be made without failure, but one look at Elizabeth's face told him that she had no idea which one to shoot next. He would have given her a hint, told her where to stand and which one to hit, but she did tell him to not take pity on her. Jason saw her lean over the table once more, chewing on her bottom lip debating whether or not she could make the shot. Humor found its way into his eyes as he looked at her trying to lean further over the table. Her height and her growing belly were proving to be too many obstacles for her to make the shot she was after. He wanted to help her, his hands were itching to help her position the cue stick when a sharp pain radiated through his eyes.

It wasn't a blinding pain, not nearly as fierce as his previous pains, but it still hurt. Shaking his head, Jason tried to relieve the biting pain when his mind was brought back to another time. The scenery was exactly the same. He was in Jakes and Elizabeth was with him, only her hair was shorter and she looked younger, but still mature.

"_Ok, but first I need to decide which ball I'm going to hit." _

"_All right. Just let your instinct tell you which one feels right. Which one?" _

"_That one." _

_Leaning over Elizabeth, Jason molded his hands to hers on the pool stick, placing her hands in the exact location it needed to be in order to make the shot, "All right, ok. Number one in the corner pocket." _

"_All right. Ready?" _

"_Just go through the ball." Right before they pulled the pool stick back together, Jason leaned in, burying his face into her hair, and closed his eyes breathing in her sent. Opening his eyes, together, the both of them sank the ball into the corner pocket._

"_Ok. Ooh. That felt so good."_

Snapping himself back into the present, Jason pushed his fingers harder into his eyes as he gripped onto the pool table, wanting the pain to go away but not the memory. He took several breaths, doing all that he could to calm himself down, trying his hardest to not fall down. The pain began to subside. His hand eased off of the pool table and his head slowly rose as he heard Elizabeth's voice.

"Well, I guess the first shot I made was pure luck. It's your turn." When Elizabeth looked back towards him, his shoulders were slumped and there was a fine sheen of sweat across his forehead. "Jason? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah…" Clearing his throat, Jason tried again, "Yeah, I'm… I'm good. I, ah, I just had a memory."

"You did?" When he nodded his head and tried to stand straight again, Elizabeth walked towards him and placed a hand on his bicep. "You got another headache didn't you? How bad was it?"

"Not as bad as the others." When she removed her hand from his arm, Jason quickly reached out and grabbed it lightly in his, running his thumb over her knuckles. "I remembered teaching you pool." When their eyes connected again, Jason knew, in that one memory that their friendship was more than what he thought. He didn't know how long ago he held her in his arms as he taught her how to play, but he could feel that his feelings for her were so strong at that time. It made the fact that he was feeling something for her now a little easier to accept. He knew he had feelings for her before, so it was only natural that he still had those feelings. At least, to him it was.

She cleared her throat and tried to bury the excitement that was building up in her with each soft caress of his thumb made on the back of her hand. "What… what did you remember?"

"We were here, I was… I was leaning over you and we made a shot."

Nodding her head slowly, Elizabeth continued to stare into his unblinking depths of blue, "That's all?"

"No." When her eyebrows shot up in question, Jason reached his other hand up to her face and began to caress her cheek with as much tenderness as his thumb caressed her hand. "I remember how I felt about you. We weren't just friends were we?"

She stared at him for a long moment, really looked into his eyes and down to his soul. He stunned her with his question and she had no idea how to answer him. They were more than friends, always had been until their friendship fell apart. But it was complicated. "It's complicated." Pulling away from him, Elizabeth turned away from him and rubbed her hands together, trying to think of something, anything, to say. "We were never _just_ friends."

"Were we... together?"

Turning around to face him, a sad smile appeared on her face. "At that time, no." When he crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes squinted, Elizabeth pointed to a nearby table. "Would you like to sit down?"

Without a word, Jason followed her towards the table and sat down with his arms folded over the table. His gaze was unwavering as he looked into her hesitant eyes. He could see that she was trying to do everything to not squirm and normally he would do anything to ease her tension. But he needed to know, wanted to know, what their relationship was like. The only thing he knew about their past was what she told him on the bridge and she left off at the part where he left Port Charles. He obviously came back, and he wanted to know what happened when he did.

"After you left Port Charles the first time, my whole life changed. I had found out that Lucky was actually alive, someone had kidnapped him and made us all believe that he was dead. I thought it was a miracle, you know. The love of my life returned to me. But when he came back, he was different. He acted different, treated me different. It was like our love for each other didn't matter to him anymore." It was hurting Jason to listen to her talk about Lucky. So many things were still confusing to him, but when she talked about her love for Lucky it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't care about the other man; he wanted to know about _them_. But he didn't interrupt because he knew that she had reasons for telling him about what happened with Lucky.

He continued to look at her with an open mind and eyes as she continued on with her story about how Lucky returned from the dead. She told Jason about when he came back to town just when his sister was in a major crisis. He listened to her tell him about the bike ride he took her on, which he realized was what he remembered on the bridge that night. She told him about Emily getting kidnapped at a Rave, how he worked night and day trying to find his little sister until he tracked her down in Canada. After Emily had been returned safely to Port Charles, he left again.

"You didn't get a chance to say goodbye to me. Emily was the one who told me that you had to leave again and that you told her to tell me goodbye. Everything kind of went back to normal again. Emily was having problems with her boyfriend Juan and her feelings that she developed for Zander. But Lucky and I, we were better than ever. At least that's what I thought at the time."

"But then, you came back again. One day you just showed up at my studio, asking me if I could hide you there for a while. You told me that I couldn't tell anyone that you were there, not even Emily. At first I wasn't sure if I could do it; lie to everyone that I knew. But then I realized that you came to me because you needed me and because you trusted me and I knew I couldn't turn my back on you."

Jason never said a word as she continued on with her story about their past. He never looked away, hardly even shifted in his chair. Nothing around them made its way into their private world they built in that moment. His usually unreadable face took on a look of curiosity as he continued to listen to her tell him about the second time he lived in her studio. She explained to him about the conversations they had about her modeling career and the Christmas they spent together. He could even tell now, without her telling him, that she didn't want to be a model. He could tell by the change in her voice and the dull look that appeared into her eyes that modeling was probably the last thing she wanted to do.

Elizabeth continued on with her memory of the time that he stayed in her studio. Her eyes had that far away look in them even as she stared into his. Laughter escaped both of them when she told him about how he removed the splinter from her hand. The humor in her eyes faded when she continued on and told him about how she asked him to leave her studio because she couldn't lie to Lucky anymore. Just like it did that day years ago, a sharp pain tugged at her heart when she told him about Valentines and their gift exchange. Despite her attempt to ward them off, tears found their way to her eyes as she told him about the fire in the warehouse and her fear that he wouldn't come out. But when he did, it was like everything around her faded away.

She looked away from him, tried her hardest to gain the courage and when she did she decided to hold nothing back. "When you came out of that warehouse, Carly ran into Sonny's arms and I watched you drop to the ground. I felt so many things in that one moment when I realized that you were going to be ok and when you looked up at me, the strongest feeling that went through me was one that I never thought I would feel for you. In that one moment I admitted to myself that I had feelings for you that went beyond friendship. I knew that I felt something ever since you came back that year, but I knew that I was fighting those feelings because I was with Lucky. But when you looked at me, it all came rushing out until Lucky appeared at my side. He steered me away from the fire and I walked away from you and I pushed those feelings down again."

She wouldn't meet his eyes, and Jason was relieved for once that she wouldn't look at him. Because if she did, than she would have noticed the look of amazement pass over his face. Just hearing her say that she had feelings for him made that tight feeling return with more power. She nibbled on her lower lip and took in a deep breath before she decided to go on. Again, without interruption Jason listened as she explained her reasons for having to stay away from him because of Lucky's jealousy. When she finally looked at him again, she held nothing back.

"But no matter how hard I tried to stay away from you, I couldn't." And there is was again. That tug at her heart when her eyes connected with his. She had to break eye contact with him, if she didn't, she had no idea how she would be able to continue. Finally, she looked down at her hands and was about to go on when she felt the need to move, she couldn't sit there any more with him looking at her as she opened up about their past together. No one really knew about what happened between the two of them. She had never had to tell anyone about it. Sure she talked about how Jason made her feel to Emily, but she never had to really _talk_ about it. No one else needed to know except for her and Jason. But, since Jason couldn't remember, she had to tell him, and she was beginning to realize how hard it was to voice what actually went on between them.

Standing up from the table, Elizabeth surprised Jason when she began to walk towards their unfinished game. "We should finish this. Who knows, I might get a chance to actually beat you."

He stood up from his chair and approached the pool table. "Does talking about us make you uncomfortable?"

She turned quickly, unaware that he was so close behind her. Sighing, Elizabeth leaned back against the pool table as she absently rubbed her belly. "Yes and no. It's such a private experience, but yet it's not because it happened with you. I guess I just never thought that you would forget what happened between us." She turned her head to peer up at him as he mimicked her position. "So much happened between us when you came back… including me hurting you."

"I don't understand."

She turned her entire body to face him leaning her hip against the pool table, "I would go back and forth between you and Lucky. I would tell him that I would stay away from you and then the next thing I knew, I was knocking on your door needing an escape. You were always there for me, never turning me away, but in the end I would always walk away from you. And when I would leave, I could see the hurt in your eyes and on your face."

"It wasn't until one night in the park where I really screwed everything up." Laughing at her own stupidity, Elizabeth wiped away a tear that slipped down her cheek. "We had both just admitted to each other that we wanted more from each other. Lucky showed up and we went somewhere private to talk. I told him about how I felt and he blew up and walked away. I found him later in the park with you, and the two of you were fighting. Just like I did when I found the two of you on the docks, I admittedly thought that you started it. But when Lucky walked away without a word, I realized that you were just defending yourself. I really screwed everything up that night though."

On a tortured whisper, Jason asked, "How?"

"I walked away from you after you offered me the world."

Her tear filled eyes met his and when she looked into his equally emotional eyes, she knew she couldn't look away. Nothing would be able to cause her to look away in that moment.

Jason raised his hand to cup her smooth cheek, but before it made contact he hesitated for a moment, afraid to move, until he finally touched her soft skin. When he did, her eyes shut and another tear escaped from beneath her lashes. Before it could slip any farther, his thumb swept across her cheek and caught the tear. She didn't open her eyes as he continued to caress her cheek, but when she felt his hand tug her head slightly towards his she didn't fight it.

Their breaths mingled together as their faces grew closer. Her eyes were still closed, but his were slightly opened, starring at her slightly parted lips. Not waiting any longer, Jason finally dropped his head and their lips met in a soft caress. For the longest moment neither moved as they familiarized themselves with the softness of the others lips.

Slowly, Jason lowered his hand from her cheek and molded it to the back of her neck, digging his fingertips into her soft hair. His other hand found its way to her hip and glided to the small of her back as he opened his mouth over hers.

She responded to him without hesitation. Her hands ran up his chest, over his shoulders, and finally hooked around the back of his neck as she let her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck. Her mouth flowered underneath his as they continued to explore each other with slow, sensual movements. When she felt the slight pressure of his tongue against her lips, she opened her mouth to him and let out a sigh when he began to explore her mouth.

He pulled her closer to him, keeping his movements slow as he wrapped her fully in his embrace. Her stomach bumped against his, only causing his mouth to move over hers with more force. He dove his hand deeper into her hair as she pulled him closer, meeting him stroke for stroke with her own tongue. They pulled away from each other for a split second, taking in as much oxygen as they could in that brief moment before their lips began to move against each others again.

The exact moment that Jason pushed his tongue past her lips, the bundle of joy that was growing inside of her decided to make her presence known. When Elizabeth felt her baby's swift kick to her ribs, she pulled her lips away from Jason's and looked at him with wide passion filled eyes. "I…I…oh god." Running her hands through her hair, Elizabeth pushed down the feeling that spurred when she realized that her hands in her hair didn't feel as good as Jason's. On a whisper, Elizabeth turned around without even looking him in the eye. "I have to go."

And then she was gone.

* * *

The opening of the front door pulled Lucky's attention away from his beer and towards the now open door. He expected Elizabeth to be standing there, but instead when he looked up, Manny Ruiz was standing in his door way with his gun pointing straight at Lucky.

Lucky didn't move, didn't even blink as the tattooed mobster made his way into his home. It might have been the ten beers that he had just downed, but looking down the barrel of a gun that was pointed right between his eyes did little to scare Lucky. Standing up with a little of a wobble, he towered over Manny, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Careful, I'm the one who has the gun. I'm the one who speaks."

"Fuck off." Before he knew it, Lucky was on his knees clutching his bleeding nose from where Manny hit him with his gun."

"I said careful."

Looking down at his bloody hands, Lucky wiped them on his jeans before he turned his glazed eyes towards Manny, "What do you want."

A sadistic smirk played across Manny's lips as he crouched down towards Lucky, lowering his gun. "It's simple. Change your statement against my brother."

"Why would I do that?"

"Trust me Spencer; it will be in the best interest of you and your little woman to back off."

Rising, Lucky stumbled back a bit before he squared his shoulders and pointed an accusing finger at Manny who was now standing. "You stay the hell away from Elizabeth, if you go near her or hurt her I will-"

"Whoa, whoa," holding his hands up as he smacked his lips together, Manny stepped closer to Lucky. "It's not me who hurt her man. You did that all on your own by jumping into bed with another woman."

"How-"

"That doesn't matter. You don't want her to find out? Change your testimony against my brother."

Gaining some more courage, Lucky stepped closer to Manny and used his height over the man as an attempt to look threatening. "Elizabeth would never believe you."

Pocking Lucky in the chest with his gun, Manny tipped his head to the side, never letting his smile leave his face. "No? You really want to take that chance?" When Lucky did nothing but continue to stare, Manny held his gun towards Lucky's chest as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. At the push of a button, Manny had called his contact and said nothing in greeting except for "Do it," before he shut his phone off and backed away from the other man.

"That was a stupid mistake you just made Spencer." Raising his hand that held his gun, Manny watched as Lucky closed his eyes in anticipation of being shot. But instead of shooting him, Manny pulled his arm back and knocked Lucky across his head, knocking the other man out.

Without a word, Manny turned around and walked out of the front door not even looking at Alcazar's man as he crouched down by Lucky's car with tools in his hands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

When she walked into her apartment everything was the same. The living room was still clattered with Cameron's toys; the afghan that covered her earlier during her nap was still bunched on the floor from when she dropped it in her haste to see her son walking to Jason. The only difference in the bright living room that always welcomed her home was her fiancé passed out on the floor.

Throwing her keys on the coffee table, Elizabeth rushed to Lucky's side forgetting everything that happened earlier that night, their fight and her kiss with Jason. She knelt down beside him, turning him gingerly onto his back. When his face came into view, Elizabeth gasped at the sight of his bruised and bloody face.

"Lucky." Her voice was frantic. "Lucky, can you hear me?"

He didn't move but the moan that escaped him eased some of Elizabeth's fear. She held his head in her lap and stroked his hair away from his face. Her frantic eyes left his face in search of their phone. She saw it on the far end of the couch, far enough where she would have to put Lucky's head back on the floor to retrieve it.

She was in the midst of releasing his head when his eyes opened and a groan escaped him. "Eliz… Elizabeth?"

"I'm right here." She cupped his face between her palms and looked into his glassy eyes. "Oh god… Lucky what happened?"

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth… I didn't… I didn't mean to do it."

"What?" He was grasping onto her hands with an almost frantic need. Elizabeth stared at him with confusion as he rambled on; apologizing to her for something she had no idea about. She moved back, got to her feet and tried to help Lucky up. The alcohol from before and the beating he took proved to be obstacles, allowing him to stand for a brief moment before he swayed towards the couch and plopped down.

Lucky put his head in his hands, still uttering incoherent phrases. Elizabeth frowned at his need to apologize, but before she could find out what he was talking about, she went into the kitchen and retrieved a pack of ice.

Placing the ice over the growing bump on Lucky's forehead, Elizabeth sat on the coffee table in front of him and tilted his head up to look into his unfocused eyes. "Lucky." It took several moments for him to process she was sitting in front of him, holding ice to his head. When he finally looked into her eyes, Elizabeth ran her thumb back and forth over his cheek. "What happened Lucky, what are you talking about?" Her voice was soft, soothing.

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth." Tears gathered into his eyes, causing her own eyes to fill at his emotion. "I didn't mean to, it was one night, one stupid night."

"I don't understand." He was starting to scare her. Her heart was thundering in her chest, making it hard to breathe. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't mean to sleep with Sam." The ice fell from his forehead at the same time her soothing hand did. Her eyes were wide with confusion, with fear, with hurt. He continued on as if he didn't notice, needing to apologize for his mistake. "You kicked me out and I… I thought it was over between us. I went to the bar and Sam was there. One thing led to another and I…"

She stood up from the coffee table, unable to sit so close to him, unable to process what he was saying. Her back was to him and when he went on, she looked over her shoulder at him as she rubbed her belly. His elbows rested on his knees as his head rested between his hands. "I was drunk and I didn't know what I was doing." He looked up at her, "Please Elizabeth, you have to believe me."

She turned fully around to look at him; silent tears were running down her face as she looked into his equally emotional eyes, glassy with tears and alcohol. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I had to explain what happened. I couldn't let you go on knowing what happened and… and not tell you why it happened."

Confusion etched her forehead as she studied him. He thought that she knew that he had an affair with another woman, but she didn't. He was only telling her because he thought he was caught. Anger replaced her grief stricken tears. "You slept with Sam." Her words were laced with anger, disgust.

"I didn't mean for it to happen." He scrambled to his feet, bypassed the coffee table and came to a stop in front of her. Lucky reached out for her shoulders and gripped them frantically as he looked into her eyes full with fury. "You have to believe me Elizabeth, I would never hurt you."

"Don't touch me!" She backed away from him; almost fell over from the strength she pulled away from him until he steadied her. "I said don't touch me."

"I'm sorry-"

"Sorry, you're sorry?" Her expression showed her disgust with him and his pitiful explanation. "We had a fight and you slept with another woman and you're sorry?"

He tried to reach out for her again, tears gathered in his eyes when she held up her hand, warning him to stay away from her. "I didn't know what I was doing Elizabeth, please."

"You disgust me, you know that?" Both of her hands rested on her stomach as she seethed at him. "I have done everything I could think of to make a family with you. I have spent so much time dreaming of what it would be like to have the perfect family with you, and you made me believe that we could."

"We still can."

"No we can't!" Her hands were trembling. "You've ruined everything Lucky. You slept with another woman, how am I supposed to trust you."

"Please, I told you it was a mistake; I didn't know what I was doing."

"And that's supposed to make it ok?" He didn't respond as a tear slipped down his cheek. "We are supposed to be building a life together, a family and at the first sign of trouble you run away and find comfort in another woman's arms. In Sam's arms."

He looked away from her at the other woman's name on Elizabeth's lips. He was ashamed for what he had done. He never wanted to tell her what happened, but when Ruiz came into his home earlier, he thought she had already known. Judging by her reaction, she hadn't known.

"I have sacrificed so much to be with you. I mean look at me! I am carrying another mans child in order to provide for us!"

He finally looked at her. "You know how much I didn't want for you to be carrying Jax's child."

"That's not the point Lucky. You had plenty of time to tell me that you didn't want this before we went through the procedure-"

"I told you I didn't want to!"

"But then you told me it was ok! Don't you dare try to pin this on me." Her voice became very calm and lethal as she pointed a finger at him. "You are the one who screwed up, you are the one who walked out of here and ended up in bed with another woman."

Silence.

"What was it Lucky? Why did you sleep with Sam? Was it because you were feeling insecure about me carrying Jax's child?"

"I don't know. I told you, I didn't know what I was doing."

"Uh-uh, no that's not going to work. We got in a fight that night and you walked out after I told you to leave. We fought about sharing custody with Jax… oh my god. That's why you agreed to share custody, because you slept with Sam and you felt guilty." He remained silent. "Isn't it?"

"Partially."

"I can't even look at you right now." She went to reach for her keys on the coffee table when Lucky's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Please do not leave. We have to talk about this."

"What is there to talk about Lucky? You slept with another woman, ruining any chance for us to have a family together. What else to we need to talk about?" Her voice was condescending causing anger to form in Lucky.

"You're right, I slept with Sam and I cheated on you. But damn it Elizabeth, I was upset and I was confused. You are pregnant with another man's child and it kills me every time I see him around you because I know that that child growing inside you isn't mine, it's his."

Her hands continued to rub her belly. "So that's what this is about, you're jealous of Jax?" He nodded his head slightly causing her to snort in disgust. "You know that you have nothing to be jealous about. I don't love Jax; I don't even have feelings for him. You are the one I love and you went and screwed that up. You never had reason to be jealous of anyone."

"Oh really." He lifted his eyebrows in question as she tilted her head, their conversation growing ugly. "I never had anyone to be jealous about. What about Jason?"

"Jason? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Why don't you tell me Elizabeth? You've been spending so much time with him lately. I'm beginning to think that you have feelings for him again. And you say I'm not supposed to be jealous of him."

"First of," she jabbed a finger into his chest, "I was hardly spending anytime with Jason when you hopped into bed with Sam, so don't you dare try to blame any of this on anyone but yourself. You're the one who got drunk, and you are the one who had sex with another woman. And Jason is just a friend of mine, he need's… you know what, we are not going to talk about this again. We're not going to talk about anything, I'm leaving."

"No your not," his voice seemed commanding, something that just lit her fire even more.

"Don't you dare try to stop me. You disgust me right now Lucky, I can't even look at you let alone be in the same room as you."

When he went to stop her from retrieving her keys from the coffee table, Elizabeth reached her hand back and slapped him hard across his face. For the moment he was distracted with holding his face, she had the chance to blindly reach down for her keys and grab her purse. She turned around with all intentions of making it to her front door until Lucky grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, causing her stomach to crash with is. "Please do not go." His voice held tenderness as his grip held her tight.

"Let go of me." He looked into her face, saw the pain, the hurt, the anger and disgust and let her go.

She walked away without looking back, slamming the door behind her.

Elizabeth walked to the parking lot, dashing tears away from her face with angry swipes of her hand. She made it to her car door and when she went to insert her key, she realized she grabbed Lucky's keys instead. She took one look at her apartment door, thought of the man inside, the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with and made her decision. It was either go back inside and grab her keys, having another altercation with Lucky, or take his car to wherever she planed on going.

Decision made, Elizabeth walked towards Lucky's car.

* * *

He didn't know why he was here. All he knew was that he couldn't sit at Jake's anymore. After Elizabeth had left, practically running away from him, Jason wanted to go after her, but he knew better. It was a mistake kissing her, something he knew he shouldn't have done, but damn if he didn't enjoy it. He watched her make a mad dash for the exit of Jakes and called himself several names, none of them good.

Jason spent about an hour at Jake's, sipping on one beer until he couldn't stay there any longer. He didn't feel like a bike ride, didn't want to think, so he came here. He only felt comfortable around two people. One of them ran away from him, so that left Sonny.

Jason stood in the middle of Sonny's living room debating whether or not he made a mistake seeking the other man out. Before he could decide whether or not he wanted to stay, the decision was made for him when Sonny came walking into the room.

"Hey man, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I could leave if you're busy."

"No, I'm not busy."

"Ok."

They stood there in silence for several moments. Neither man knew what to say to the other. Sonny wasn't used to this feeling; it had never been this uncomfortable to be around Jason. They had been in fights before, done stupid things, but they had never been brought to the point where it was awkward standing in the same room. It unnerved Sonny.

Walking to his wet bar, Sonny motioned for Jason to take a seat as he offered him a drink, the younger man refused, so Sonny poured himself a glass of water. "What brings you by?" He asked as he leaned against his bar.

Jason really didn't know what to say. "I uh, I wanted to see how everything was going with you. I know that Carly is still in Rose Lawn, is that working out for her?" He really didn't know Carly, but from what he heard, she had been just as good of a friend as Sonny was.

Sonny could tell that something else was on Jason's mind, but he let it slide. "Carly's making great improvement in Rose Lawn. They think she should be able to come home in time to spend Christmas with the boys."

"Michael and Morgan?"

"Yeah." When Jason did nothing but nod his head in response, Sonny took a sip of his water and eyed the other man. "Something on your mind?"

Jason looked everywhere but at Sonny, when he finally looked at the other man, his expression was calm, waiting for Jason to speak. Sighing Jason clasped his hands between his knees and studied them. "I've been spending a lot of time with Elizabeth." He looked up at Sonny, but the other mans expression didn't change. "She's been helping me out a lot and she's been a good friend."

Sonny nodded as Jason spoke. He saw the two of them together a couple of times and was happy for the fact that Jason had someone who he could talk to. He knew the younger man worried about her and felt connected to her in someway. Jason had asked him to put a guard on her, worrying that Manny Ruiz posed a threat. "Does this have anything to do with Manny? Did he approach her again?"

"No." Frowning, Jason remembered that he still hadn't gotten an answer from Elizabeth on whether or not she would accept a guard. "Manny hasn't approached Elizabeth again. Something… happened earlier though, and I," sighing again, Jason looked back towards his clasped hands. "I kissed Elizabeth earlier tonight."

Sonny didn't say anything but when Jason looked back towards the older man, he could see the shocked expression on his face. His eyes opened wider than normal and he just stared at Jason. Finally composing himself, Sonny addressed the other man. "What happened?"

"I don't know Sonny." Standing up from the couch, Jason walked over to Sonny's desk before he turned back around and leaned back against it. "We were at Jake's playing pool. She started to tell me about our past." He looked away from Sonny and his eyes became unfocused, almost as if he were trying to relive the moment he kissed Elizabeth. "We were just talking and I don't know, something happened and I just kissed her and she kissed me back."

Sonny's voice broke Jason out of his trance, "What's the problem then?"

Smirking, Jason looked back at Sonny, crossing his arms over his chest. "She practically ran out of Jake's after we kissed. I just," he dropped his arms down to his sides, showing his frustrations. "I don't know Sonny, Elizabeth just… she makes me feel things and I don't know if I can control how I feel around her anymore. I don't know if I want to."

Sonny didn't want to be the one to bring Jason down further when he was already so low, but he felt the need to reason with him. "She is engaged to Lucky."

"I know that." Jason's hand sliced through the air silencing Sonny. "I know she is in love with someone else. I shouldn't have kissed her."

"You said she kissed you back."

"She did."

"Well-"

"But she also ran out Sonny." Jason straightened against the desk and placed his hands on his hips. "I don't know; I just don't want to lose her as a friend."

"Maybe you should just give her sometime and see what happens." He didn't know what else to say, but Sonny hoped that Jason wouldn't give up; it seemed that Elizabeth was good for him.

As a friend, of course.

"Maybe your right." The sigh that escaped Jason this time was borderline hope and regret.

"How has everything else been going? Is your treatment going ok?"

"I've only had one treatment so far and it seems to be helping." He didn't want to tell Sonny about his resent memory glimpses, didn't want to get his hopes up and then shatter them when he explained that he still had no memories of their friendship. "I have an appointment really early tomorrow morning," looking at Sonny's clock, he realized it was well past midnight. "Actually, I have an appointment in a couple of hours. I should be heading out."

When Jason turned around to walk away after saying goodbye, he turned back around to look at Sonny as the other man nodded his head and looked down towards his feet. "Sonny."

When Sonny brought his gaze to him, Jason nodded his head once. "Thank you."

And then he was gone.

* * *

Elizabeth sat in front of her grandmother's house in Lucky's car for several hours. She didn't know where she wanted to go, but as she turned out of her apartment complex, the first thing that came to her mind was seeing her son and holding him in her arms. But as she pulled down her grams street and stopped the car, she couldn't talk herself into getting out.

She didn't cry the entire ride to her gram's house, didn't shed one tear. But the moment the car stopped, the flood gates opened and she couldn't stop. Lucky had cheated on her with another woman, again.

Only this time, they were together and the other woman wasn't her sister, but it was worse. He had cheated on her with Sam McCall, someone she had been friendly with. She wouldn't call Sam a friend, but she had always made sure to be kind to the other woman, partially because she had meant something to Jason at one time.

But Lucky had cheated on her with Sam, and he ruined everything. For so long, since she was a teenager, she had dreamt of marrying Lucky and building a life with him, the perfect family. They had messed up with each other several times, delaying her dream for years, but they were finally together again. And what did you do? He ruined their chance at true happiness.

Swiping away her tears, Elizabeth rubbed her belly as her child kicked her, obviously worried about her mother. "I know baby," sniffing Elizabeth continued, "Mommy is just a little upset right now. But you have nothing to worry about."

Looking back at her grams dark house, Elizabeth let a wistful smile cross her lips as she returned her gaze to her full belly. "No matter what, you are going to have the best life ever. I promise you that."

"See, your dad, Jax, he is kind of this power hungry business type, but I know he will love you with everything he has. You'll probably be the most spoiled little girl. But don't worry; I'll make sure you don't get spoiled too much." Laughing at the thought of Jax pampering their little girl with everything she wanted Elizabeth patted her stomach when her baby kicked again.

"I promise you that your life will be full of love and happiness. I may not be the smartest or the luckiest when it comes to love, but I know that I will love you and be the best mommy ever. Just ask Cameron." Closing her eyes, Elizabeth leaned her head back and let a tear fall down her cheek. "No matter what, you'll be so loved."

Opening her eyes again, Elizabeth took one last look at her grams house and decided to drive around a little more. She didn't want to disturb her grams just yet, and she wasn't ready for the endless questions the older woman was sure to ask.

Starting Lucky's car again, Elizabeth pulled away from her grams house and made a right towards the road to nowhere.

It didn't feel right driving down that road without Jason or his bike. It felt almost wrong. But still, Elizabeth pushed the gas a little harder and rolled down her window, wanting to feel the wind in her hair. She pushed the gas a little more, but eased off when she came to a turn. Once she passed the turn, not loving it as much as when she was on Jason's bike, she slowed the car down and turned around.

The cliff roads where just not the same without Jason, they did nothing to make her feel better.

She pressed the gas as she passed the last turn, because of the downward slant of the road the car began to pick up more speed. Elizabeth looked down at her speedometer, seeing that she was going well over fifty and began to hit her breaks.

Nothing happened.

The car began to pick up more speed as Elizabeth began to press the break harder. She couldn't push the break down any further, but the car didn't slow down, it just continued to go faster, picking up more and more speed as the car moved.

Heart beating against her chest, Elizabeth looked around for something, anything to give her the answer in what to do. She couldn't stop her car, couldn't slow it down as panic made its way into her chest, cutting off her air supply.

Frantic, Elizabeth tried the break again, swerving her car trying to keep it in control. She reached for her purse, not knowing what else to do as she sailed down the deserted road; she pulled out her cell phone and dialed nine-one-one. As she brought the phone to her ear, a car pulled out in front of her, making her swerve to the right.

The speed of her car made it impossible to avoid the accident. Her phone fell to the floor as her car swerved. Metal crunched against metal, creating a sickening sound as Lucky's car spun in a circle before it flipped once, causing the roof of the car to crunch against the ground. The wheels continued to spin in the air as the car remained flipped over.

Pain radiated through Elizabeth's entire body before darkness took over.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

He couldn't even sleep through his treatment.

Jason had picked the earlier appointment to receive his treatment because their was no way that he was going to spend most of his day lying on a hospital bed while an IV pumped the experimental medicine through his system. The doctors had said that even though the drugs might have deadly side effects, it was the safer of the two options he was facing. He could either spend three hours a week pumping this drug through his system, or he could have surgery.

The drugs risked his life, and the surgery risked his sanity.

If anything went wrong while he was under the knife, he could be left paralyzed, blind, and so many other things that Jason refused to allow to happen. There was no way in hell he would live the rest of his life like a vegetable. He would rather die, making it easy for him to choose the experimental treatment over the surgery.

He hated the fact that the doctors just couldn't give him a prescription and be done with it. But according to the doctors, they needed to run the drug through his system at a leisurely pace, adding to the dosage each visit. It pissed him off that he had to go to a place that he just knew he hated but didn't know why. There was something about the hospital that rubbed him the wrong way.

And to top off his annoyed mood, he couldn't even sleep.

Every time he would close his eyes to get some rest as the drugs worked through his system, another nurse would come into his room to check his temperature, ask him questions, or check his blood pressure. Not only was he tired and annoyed, but he was bored out of his mind. He should have at least brought a travel book with him to read during the three hours of boredom and restlessness.

As the perky, blonde, annoying nurse left his room after checking his blood pressure and chatting away a mile a minute, Jason wished once again that he didn't have to endure these treatments. It would have been a hell of a lot better if he didn't have to go to the hospital at all. But as that thought passed through his mind, he knew that not all of his experience at the hospital had been bad. He did meet Elizabeth because of his treatment.

Sighing, Jason dropped his head to his pillow and glared up at the ceiling.

He couldn't go a half-an-hour without thinking about her, their time together, their past from her recounts, and of course, their kiss. It wasn't just that he had been spending a lot of time with Elizabeth that made him think about her. The first time he had seen her since he woke up with no memory there was something about her that drew him to her. There was something in her eyes that made him stare longer, wanting to know her.

He had been lucky that they had been friends before. No, more than friends according to her. As much as Jason liked to think about all the time they spent together, the one time that popped into his head the most the past couple of hours was their pool game at Jake's. It wasn't even the kiss that popped up the most, it was their conversation about their past.

Elizabeth had seemed so sad when she revealed to him their time together when she was battling between her feelings with him and Lucky. He still couldn't grasp that they had admitted to wanting to be together but didn't end up together at the time. Jason couldn't remember that time, only had a few short glimpses at his past with Elizabeth, but from her telling of their past, from the emotions that passed her face he just knew that they should have been together in the end.

He could tell from that one hour of her recounting their time together that their connection was so strong it was impossible to resist, but somehow Elizabeth did and that bothered him some how. Jason knew it was ridiculous to think about what could have been. But for someone who couldn't remember anything, it was all that he could do. And more than anything, he wanted to remember that time. He knew that it all wasn't perfect and written out for the two of them of what they should have done. But it seemed wasteful that he couldn't remember that time with Elizabeth, hell, it was shitty that he couldn't remember every second he spent with Elizabeth.

Growling, Jason shut his eyes at his own stupidity. He was letting her get to him to much. She was engaged to someone else, someone who had already won Elizabeth over him before. Jason knew that he didn't like Lucky the first time he met him in Kelly's, and after Elizabeth's recollection of their past, Jason finally understood where his hatred came from.

Lucky had Elizabeth and he didn't.

"Fuck." The word escaped his lips on an annoyed sigh. Why the hell couldn't he stop thinking about her? She was just a friend, and she was just helping him out during this confusing time. The treatment seemed to be working in getting his memories back. He finally started to remember things since he began the treatment. Since he met Elizabeth.

Whether he could regain his memory or not, he would continue on with his friendship with Elizabeth and he would start his life over. Regaining some memories weren't going to change anything.

He just hoped that the kiss he shared with Elizabeth wasn't going to change anything between them either. There was no doubt that they were going to have to talk about what had happened between them. But he just knew that he couldn't lose Elizabeth as a friend.

Turning his head towards the left, Jason looked out of the window as the sun began to rise and shine through the opened blinds.

Had they ever kissed before last night?

Running a hand over his face, Jason tried to push all thoughts of Elizabeth and the kissed they shared out of his mind. But with all his trying, he couldn't do it. He couldn't forget about the softness of her lips, the way she fit against him perfectly, the feeling of her rounded belly against his hard stomach and the feeling of protectiveness that he felt for her and her child.

There was no doubt in Jason's mind that Elizabeth was beautiful no matter what state she was in. But seeing her pregnant, feeling her child's first kick, it caused something within him to stir. Something that felt like it had died long before, but because of Elizabeth, her child growing inside of her, and her son Cameron, it was starting to come alive again.

It scared the shit out of him.

"Fuck." This time, the word was more forceful and made the bubbly blonde nurse jump as she opened the door to his room. She cowered towards the entrance and rung her hands together. Gone was her overly cheerful smile, and in its place was a nervous expression.

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Morgan, but I was just coming in here to remove your IV and let you know that you are free to go. Dr. Jones is in emergency surgery right now, so he can't talk to you, but he wants to make an appointment to speak to you about your progress. You can schedule your appointment at the front desk." She spoke to him as she walked towards his hospital bed with hesitation and began to remove his IV. Once the offending object was removed from his arm, the nurse made a hasty exit, showing her obvious need to be as far away from the scowling man as possible.

Jason could really care less that he scared the woman. It saved him from another one of her mindless chatters. He should remember that he needed to make his appointments when Elizabeth was on duty. He preferred her for his nurse over anyone.

He practically stormed out of his hospital room at his last thought. He was really becoming pathetic. As he made his way to the nurse's station to make his appointment, something that he dreaded, he noticed a familiar female sitting on one of the hospital lobby couches. She looked extremely upset, and before Jason could study her face some more, she buried her head in her hands and her shoulders began to shake.

Jason cast a glance at the nurse's station, and then back to the woman he finally remembered as Emily, his sister. Walking past the station, Jason made his way over to Emily. When he reached her side, he sat down on the couch next to her and placed his hand awkwardly on her shoulder to alert her that someone was there. Not knowing what else to say, Jason squeezed her shoulder and said the first thing that came to his mind. "Are you ok?"

He knew she wasn't, she was crying in the middle of the hospital, but he didn't know what else to say.

She finally looked up at him. "Jason." She tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but new ones kept replacing old ones. "What are you doing here?"

"I had an appointment." He dropped his hand, feeling uncomfortable trying to give her comfort to something he didn't know anything about. "What's wrong?"

"My friend, she was brought into the hospital about an hour ago, she-" Emily couldn't go on for a new wave of tears washed over her. Jason didn't hesitate as he took Emily into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. He said nothing as he waited for her to work through her own emotions.

When she pulled away, she looked into Jason's eyes and knew that she could talk to Jason. Even if he didn't remember anything, he was still Jason and he would still listen to her as she unloaded her problems.

"It's just so horrible Jason. She was in a really bad car accident and she had to go into surgery. When they wheeled her in, I couldn't believe that it was her. It didn't even look like her. When she wakes up, she is going to be so devastated." Tears continued to spill down her cheeks, but she wasn't crying uncontrollably again.

"Why? What happened?"

"They were able to save Elizabeth, but-"

"Elizabeth?" His question was asked on a release of air, sounding almost breathless.

"Yes, Elizabeth Webber. She-"

He interrupted her again. "Which room is she in?" His words were asked on a demand leaving no room for argument.

"I didn't know that you were talking to Elizabeth again." Obviously, Emily didn't interpret his tone. Her face still shined with tears, but her expression was one of confusion. When had Jason and Elizabeth started talking again? Did Jason remember his past, thus remembering Elizabeth? "Jason do you remember-"

"Not now Emily. Where is Elizabeth?"

She finally understood Jason's tone. "She's still unconscious, but she is in room six-twelve." Once Elizabeth's room number escaped her lips, Emily looked at Jason's back as he ran for Elizabeth's room. She couldn't figure out why he was acting so urgent. From what Emily knew, Jason still couldn't remember anything. So how did he know Elizabeth? Emily quickly shoved her curiosity aside and focused on what really mattered at the moment. Elizabeth.

She was worried about her friend. Elizabeth had lost so much in her life; it just wasn't fair for her to have to go through yet another devastation like this. How much pain can one person go through before she just gives up and breakdowns? Emily knew that Elizabeth was going to have a hard time ahead and made a vow to herself to be there for her friend, just like Elizabeth was there for her every time Emily needed her the most.

Sighing, she walked over to the nurse's station and picked up the phone to try and call Lucky one more time. The second Elizabeth was wheeled into the emergency room; Emily had tried to call Lucky at home and on his cell phone several times. Elizabeth needed him now more than ever.

His cell phone continued to ring with no answer.

* * *

Rubbing his throbbing head, Lucky rolled over onto his stomach, reached for his phone and turned it off before throwing it on the floor, hearing a soft thud as it hit the carpet. He didn't care who it was, his head was hurting way too much for him to deal with anyone.

Rolling onto his back, he placed his hands over his eyes to shield out the early rising sun. A soft weight landed on his naked chest making him suppress an annoyed groan. He knew why he was waking up where he was. After Elizabeth had left, he was so angry with so many different things that he wasn't thinking straight.

He was pissed because everything was slipping between his fingers. He was pissed because Elizabeth had walked out on him again last night. He was pissed because she found out about his night with Sam and there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

He was going to fix it. He couldn't let Elizabeth leave him, she was his everything. He was supposed to have a family with her, Cameron, and the new baby. But he couldn't fix it last night.

Lucky had felt so lost and so alone when she walked out on him that he needed to feel, he needed to not be turned away.

And that was how he ended up in Sam's bed again.

* * *

She was fighting against the darkness. It hurt. It hurt like hell, but Elizabeth was doing everything in her power to fight through the darkness that was consuming her entire being. Very slowly she began to push past the last layer that held her under. Light began to penetrate through the darkness and the deafening silence turned into a steady beep.

Through the pain and the darkness, Elizabeth began to realize she couldn't move an inch of her body and began to panic. Nothing she tried worked. She couldn't open her eyes, couldn't move her legs, couldn't squeeze the object in her hand.

With all of her strength, she focused on the weight in her hand. Everything was such a blur that she couldn't think about the pain or the noise that was slamming against her skull. So instead, she focused on her hand and moving it.

It seemed like it took her an eternity to move her hand, but she knew exactly when she did, and she realized what she was holding onto.

Someone else's hand.

To her, it felt like she was squeezing that persons hand with a death grip, but in reality, her grip was slight but noticeable. She couldn't gather the strength to continue with her grip on his hand and had to let go after a moment. She began to focus on opening her eyes when she felt a hand brush her hair on her forehead. When she heard his voice, saying her name, she wanted nothing more than to fight the darkness and see his face. She was so scared all she wanted to do was open her eyes and lose herself in him instead of the darkness that was trying to take over once again.

"Elizabeth?" His voice was a low rough whisper. She did everything to follow his voice through the haze, silencing the steady beep that was driving her to insanity.

Jason felt her squeeze his hand once again and held his breath as he waited for her to open her eyes. He had been sitting in Elizabeth's hospital room for the past two hours, holding her hand and just staring at her, willing her to wake up. He didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything at all. He just tried to give her some of his strength through the joining of their hands.

He was about to call her name again when the flutter of her eyelashes silenced him. Slits of deep blue peeked through the small opening of her lashes once, twice, and when they didn't appear again he began to become nervous until her eyes cracked open with more definition.

He didn't know if she knew he was there, didn't want to scare her, so he waited for her to come to as slowly as she needed to. Her hand in his began to hold onto his with more strength, but it was still such a weak hold making him notice how fragile and delicate she was.

Everything hurt so much and she felt so empty inside but couldn't figure out why. The only thing she knew was that Jason was there with her, wherever that was, and she wasn't alone in the darkness anymore. She began to relax as she tried to focus on her surroundings. She was in a familiar place, she knew that. What she didn't know was how she got there and why she was there to begin with.

"Ja…" clearing her throat to push past the soreness she tried again. "Jason?" Her voice sounded as vulnerable as she looked. She sounded like she was in a panic.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, I'm right here." His hand squeezed hers in reassurance as his other hand smoothed her hair back. He ran the back of his knuckles softly over her pale cheek.

"What…" her scratchy throat made it impossible to speak. She tried to focus on his face but all she saw was a blur. She noticed his bright blue eyes and focused on that as she cleared her throat again, helping nothing because of the dryness. She tried again, "What happened?" She ended her question on a wince as a result of the sharp pain that radiated through her side.

"You were in a car accident." When she continued to clear her throat he tried to let go of her hand to get her some water. When she squeezed his hand with all the strength she could gather, he stopped moving, noticing the panic look that crossed her face as she focused in on him better. "I'm not going anywhere. I was just going to get you some water." She held onto his hand a little longer but finally let go.

He poured her a cup of water at her bedside table and then turned back to her. "Do you think you can lift your head a bit to take a drink?" When she nodded, he gingerly placed his hand behind her head to prop her up a bit as he placed the cup to her lips. She winced as the cold water hit her dry mouth and could only take a small sip before pain took over. Jason noticed her flinch of pain and positioned her back against her pillow with the same ease and caution as he lifted her head. "Is that better?"

Again she only nodded her head as an answer. Jason ran his finger down the side of her face as she closed her eyes tightly. He wanted to take the pain away from her. He would do anything to relieve her of the physical pain she was going through and take it all on himself. He hated seeing her so weak and vulnerable. "I'm going to go get the doctor."

"No." She tried to speak with force but the word came out on a tortured whisper. She opened her eyes despite the pain and found a bit of happiness that she could focus in on him. She had so many questions but her body refused to let her question them. The only thing that could pass through her lips was another tortured whisper. "My baby?"

The happiness that she found when she could focus in on Jason clearly diminished when she was able to recognize the pained expression that passed his face. His eyes became regretful and his face became—if at all possible—softer. "No." This time, her voice held more force.

Jason bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he grabbed her hand again. She held onto him with more force than before, an obvious sign that she needed him to tell her that her baby was ok. It hurt more than anything, but he finally looked into her devastated eyes. "I'm sorry."

He just didn't know anything else to say.

He couldn't look away from her as the tears gathered in her eyes. He wanted to take her into his arms and make all of her pain disappear. He felt completely helpless as he watched a tear slip down her cheek. That one tear did more to him, caused him more pain than he felt when he first saw her lying in the hospital bed hooked up to machines, bruised and completely helpless. He couldn't take away her physical pain, and he had no idea how to comfort her in her emotional pain.

Elizabeth turned her head to the side and closed her eyes tightly against her flood of tears. Again, she lost another child. An innocent little angel was taken away from her. Again. She now knew why she felt so empty. It was because she _was_ empty. It was too much, too painful. She couldn't do this. She didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it, but she knew it was true.

Her baby was gone, dead. She would never get to live her life. Elizabeth would never get to see her baby smile, or cry, or laugh, or scream. Her little girl was gone and she didn't even get to meet her. Elizabeth felt so empty inside and knew that nothing would be able to fill that void.

Jason watched on helplessly as silent tears fell from her eyes. He wanted to gather her in his arms but knew he couldn't because of her injuries from the car accident. When she turned her face and focused her pain filled eyes on him again, Jason knew that he needed to give her some strength, even if he didn't think he had any at the moment. He lowered his head and let his forehead touch hers. He let his forehead rest on hers, squeezed her hand, and cupped her cheek, using his thumb to catch her tears. They felt like razors slashing through his rough skin, it pained him beyond belief to feel her pain.

She took in a deep breath before she lifted her free hand to cup his cheek like he was cupping hers. She felt his rough cheek and the stubble below her fingers. She tried to focus on him instead of her pain but knew it wasn't possible. She began to move her thumb back and forth like he was doing to her, to catch the tear the spilled onto his cheek. For some reason, his tear finally let her break down. She didn't fight her own tears as she moved her head aside causing his cheek to rest against hers.

Elizabeth tried to bury her head into the warm cavern of his neck as their cheeks pressed together, mixing her many tears with his solitary tear. She didn't know how, but for a split second she felt like she would be able to get through this, but only if Jason was with her.

They were interrupted from their silence when a knock sounded on the door. Jason pulled away from her and brought his hand against his face and scrubbed before he turned to see who was coming inside. A tall blonde man appeared and Jason recognized him as the man on the docks a few nights before. It was then that he remembered that Jax was the father of the child Elizabeth was carrying before the accident.

Gone was the furious expression that Jax held the night Jason met him on the docks with Sonny. In its place was a sadness of losing his child. Jason looked back at Elizabeth and gave her hand a gentle squeeze as she looked up at Jax.

No one spoke for a minute before Jax cleared his throat and stepped closer. He didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say. "I tried to get here sooner, but I was away on business and when I got Emily's call I came as quickly as I could."

He looked so lost and so detached and Elizabeth felt responsible for his loss. She didn't know why, but she knew that she was carrying their baby and she was supposed to protect their child with everything she had, but she let Jax and their baby down. She didn't fight hard enough to save their child and now she was gone. "I'm so sorry Jax." Tears fell down her cheeks again as she spoke so low and with obvious self blame.

Jax quickly came out of himself and rushed to the other side of her bed. He grabbed her hand between the two of his and spoke with force through his thick throat, filled with such emotion it could have knocked him over. "You have nothing to be sorry for Elizabeth, we both lost our child." His eyes became cloudy with unshed tears and he had to clear his throat to force them away.

Jason felt like he was intruding on them. He didn't feel right sitting there, watching as the two of them grieved over their loss of their child. He tried to slowly remove his hand from Elizabeth's, he wanted to give them some privacy and he needed some air. But when her hand closed over his with even more force, showing the both of them that she was slowly regaining her strength, Jason stopped.

Elizabeth looked up at him with eyes filled with so many emotions that he would have had to sit down if he were standing. She was in so much pain. "Please don't leave." She didn't care that her voice was filled with such panic. She needed Jason and didn't care if she had to beg him to stay. She needed him by her side.

"I'm not leaving." He hated the pain she was going through. He felt like he needed to punch something. He had to let go of his anger in some way, but he knew that he wouldn't leave her. He couldn't. "I'm just going to go get your doctor." He also knew that she needed some time alone with Jax.

She stared at him for a long time before she finally let go of his hand. He forced a small smile of reassurance before he made his way to the door. Once the door was closed behind him he leaned against it for a moment.

His eyes closed as his head feel silently against the wooden door. The hall was silent and the only thing he could hear was his silent vow that no matter what, he would be there for Elizabeth.

She needed him just as much as he needed her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

His first thought was to go outside, get some air. But he knew that his needs had to come second. As much as he wanted to walk over to the stairway and step outside for even just a minute, he didn't. Instead, he searched for his sister. Spotting her hunched over at the nurse's desk, Jason walked towards her, hesitant to approach at first. He could tell she was worried by the rigid set of her shoulders. He stood in front of her, the nurse's desk between them, but when she didn't look up he cleared his throat and gently interrupted her thoughts. "Hey."

Emily's head snapped up and Jason could see the dry tears on her cheeks. "Is Elizabeth ok? Did she wake up?"

A slight nod of his head seemed to take some of the tension out of her shoulders. "She's awake and… she," Scratching the back of his head as he looked down. Jason cleared his throat before he went on. He had to swallow once, twice, past the growing knot in his throat. Just thinking about the look on Elizabeth's face when she accepted the truth that her baby was gone caused painful emotion to course through him. It hurt like hell. "She…knows."

Hand over mouth, Emily tried her best to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't believe that her best friend was going through this…again. "I need to see her."

Jason wasn't too familiar of his sister's relationship with Elizabeth. He knew they were friends and by the way Emily was reacting to Elizabeth's accident he concluded that they were good friends. He didn't know if Elizabeth would want company or not, but he didn't feel right voicing that to his sister. Instead, he looked away before mentioning his real reason for approaching her. "I told Elizabeth that I was going to get her doctor. Do you know where I can find her?"

"I'll page Dr. Meadows right now. I know that she had an appointment, so I'll send a nurse in."

Nodding his head, Jason began to turn around and make his way back towards Elizabeth's room when the elevator opened and Lucky came storming towards the nurse's desk.

"What happened? I got your messages. What happened to Elizabeth?"

"Lucky, I have been trying to call you all morning. Where have you been?"

Placing his palms on the cool counter of the nurses' desk, Lucky shook his head. "It doesn't matter; tell me what happened to Elizabeth."

Emily could see the alarm in Lucky's eyes and hear the anxiety in his voice and decided to tell him what happened. "Elizabeth was brought into the ER earlier this morning. She was in a terrible accident Lucky."

The wind was knocked out of Lucky for a moment. He focused in on nothing as he thought about Elizabeth. He moved a step back and it was then that he finally saw Jason. His expression turned from agony to confusion as he stared at the man, wondering what the hell he was doing there. He was just about to ask just that when Emily interrupted him.

"Elizabeth just woke up, but, Lucky, she lost the baby."

Jason was staring at Lucky with masked emotion. He let nothing show on his face as he looked at the man who held Elizabeth's heart. If Jason wasn't looking directly at Lucky when Emily announced that Elizabeth lost the baby, than Jason wouldn't have seen the look that entered Lucky's eyes for a split second upon hearing the news.

Jason's eyes narrowed with suspicion and confusion when he recognized the look that passed through Lucky's face. He looked…_relieved_.Jason couldn't understand why the other man would feel relieved but he couldn't think more of it, or study the look any longer because just as quickly as it passed over Lucky's face, it was gone. In its place was concern.

"What room is she in?"

"She's in room six-twelve. I was just going to go see her, I'll take you."

Emily walked beside Lucky as they made their way to Elizabeth's room. Jason felt out of place, but followed them anyway. Lucky looked at him again and Jason could tell that Lucky was wondering what Jason was doing there. Jason could tell that the other man didn't like him and could care less. He didn't like the guy either.

Jason was there for Elizabeth and could care less what anyone else thought.

Especially Lucky.

The three of them stopped before Elizabeth's door and when Lucky reached for the handle, Emily placed her hand on his arm, offering comfort and support. "You go in first, we'll wait out here."

Lucky nodded his head, glancing once more at Jason, showing his displeasure. Without another word, Lucky stepped inside Elizabeth's room. Both Emily and Jason stood quietly, neither knowing what to say to the other. Emily, growing uncomfortable through the silence, turned to Jason and was about to break the silence when the door opened again.

Jax stepped outside, tears evident in his eyes and gave Emily a small smile.

"How is she?"

Jax had to clear his throat before he spoke. He had such big plans for the child he and Elizabeth just lost. He wanted nothing more than to be a father, and when he was given the chance, it was taken away from him before he truly got used to the idea. It a couple of months, he should have been holding his new born baby; instead, he was going to now have to plan her funeral. "She's hurting. She didn't really talk that much, but I can tell she is hurting. It's just…" He couldn't go on. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to stop the flow of tears that were threatening to spill.

Emily's heart went out to Jax, and although Jason felt bad for the man, his main concern was Elizabeth. He wanted nothing more than to be inside that room with her, be near her.

Emily moved towards Jax, placing her hand on his arm. He opened his eyes, looked down at her and willing went into her arms. The hug was awkward, but still held that comfort that the two of them needed.

Jason looked away, feeling, yet again, like he was interfering. That need to step outside, maybe go for a bike ride and get some fresh air called out to him again. But he pushed it aside, remembering that he promised Elizabeth he wasn't leaving. He knew that she had her friends and her fiancé there for her. But he still couldn't bring himself to leave.

But standing there, waiting for Elizabeth's fiancé to come outside, watching as Jax tried to control his tears in Emily's arms; Jason knew that he had to step away for just a moment. He wasn't going to leave the hospital, not even the floor. He was just going to give everyone their much needed privacy, and gain some of his own.

Just as he was about to walk away unnoticed, a blond woman came rushing down the hall. She looked familiar, but Jason couldn't remember who she was.

"It's true isn't it?"

Jax pulled away from Emily, wishing for nothing more than his soon to be ex-wife to just go away. He couldn't deal with her at the moment. All three of them just stared at Courtney, none of them saying a word as she brushed her hair off of her shoulder.

"I just found out Elizabeth was in an accident. She lost the baby didn't she?"

Her tone sounded way to accusing for Jason's liking. He was about to step in when Jax beat him to it. Obviously coming to the same conclusion. His eyes were narrowed as he confronted his _wife_. "Elizabeth was in a terrible accident Courtney. And yes," his tone softened as he looked away. "Elizabeth lost the baby. I was just in there with her and she is extremely upset. I think it would be best if you left."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jax. She lost my baby!" Courtney's voice had risen to a high screech as she pointed to herself in the middle of her outburst. "What was she doing out so late anyway? What was she thinking?"

Jason couldn't remember, but he was sure that he had never hit a woman. But standing there, listening and watching as Courtney yelled, placing blame on Elizabeth, he was very tempted to hit her. His hands clenched at his sides, but he held back.

"This is not the time, or the place for this." Grabbing her upper arm, Jax began to steer her down the hallway. Looking towards Emily, Jax's voice and expression softened. "Tell Elizabeth that I'll be back."

"I will." She smiled in return. Once Jax and Courtney were out of view, Emily groaned while she turned her worried eyes towards Jason. "I _hope_ Elizabeth did not hear any of that."

Alarm sparked through Jason. "You think she could have heard her?"

"I don't know. Courtney _was_ yelling loud enough."

Sighing, Jason scrubbed firmly at his face. Elizabeth had been through so much. She just lost her unborn child and her pain was beyond bearable. He knew there was a small part of her that blamed her self. She did apologize to Jax when he first came into her room and he could see something in her eyes when she apologized. Something that told him she felt responsible. He hoped that she didn't hear what Courtney had said. He didn't know if she would be able to handle it.

Just thinking about the blond pissed Jason off. She stormed into the hospital, yelling to anyone that would listen, and could have possibly caused Elizabeth more pain. His anger grew with each passing thought.

He really needed to go outside.

* * *

Once Jax left the hospital room, Lucky rushed to Elizabeth's side. He grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on her forehead. But no matter how much he wanted to be there for her, he still couldn't look her in the eyes.

Not after what happened the night before.

She found out about him cheating on her with Sam. She left him, and now she was in the hospital, bruised and in pain, both physical and emotional. She lost her baby. A child that wasn't his, but another mans. All because they fought and she left him.

Because he cheated on her.

"How…how are you feeling?"

"Lucky, please look at me."

It took what seemed an eternity for him to look at her and the longer it took, the more pain Elizabeth suffered. She felt so alone, so empty, and Lucky wouldn't even look at her. Their eyes finally made contact and Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder why there was a speck of guilt lying within his.

"I'm sorry." His voice was thick with emotion, and Elizabeth got the distinct impression that he wasn't talking about her accident or her losing the baby. "Are you in pain? Do you—"

"I'm…I'm ok. I can't really move, but I don't feel too much pain." Clearing her throat, Elizabeth tried to hold back the rush of tears that wanted so badly to fall. "The pain medication is helping." Her voice sounded hoarse. She looked up at Lucky. He sat so close to her, yet she felt like he was miles away. She need so badly for him to comfort her, tell her that everything was going to be ok. She knew it wasn't, but she desperately needed to hear the lie.

She was holding onto his hand with such a slight grip, but Lucky could tell she was using most of her strength. He looked into her pain filled eyes, knowing that because of his affair, he caused her some of the pain. How she was able to look at him puzzled him beyond belief. But no matter how much she hated him for sleeping with Sam, he would be there for her. He had to be, he couldn't lose her.

"Do you know what happened? How you ended up here?" He couldn't look at her as he waited for her to answer him.

"I know that I was in a car accident. But I… I don't remember what happened."

Lucky's gaze shot to hers. "You don't remember?"

Elizabeth concentrated, looking off into space, trying to see if she could remember the fateful accident that caused her to lose her baby. Tears finally sprang free at her frustration and sadness of losing her child. "I don't even remember being in a car."

Hope sprang within Lucky. Trying not to seem eager, he hedged on. "What… what is the last thing you remember?"

Not wanting to think about what happened, or how it happened, Elizabeth was about to tell him that all she needed was for him to be there with her. But seeing the look in his eyes, like what she might tell him would mean everything to him, she sighed and closed her eyes, trying to find the last memory that would surface. Her forehead was creased into a frown as she concentrated.

"I was… I was at home, and Cameron, he," her eyes flew open and for the first time that morning, a small smile appeared. "He was walking to me. Jason was there." Closing her eyes, Elizabeth tried to force her memory to go on, but she couldn't remember anything else. It was a dark fog of nothingness.

Just pain.

"I'm sorry, I don't—"

"Hey, hey," Moving closer to her, Lucky cupped her face in his hands, lightened his grip when he saw her grimace. "It's ok. You don't need to remember. It'll only make it worse." Relief washed over him.

She didn't remember.

He leaned over the side of her bed, kissed her gently before he pulled back. Elizabeth was taken back from his sudden closeness. From the moment he walked into her room she wanted nothing more that for him to comfort her, but he seemed so distant. And then, all of a sudden, he was giving her exactly what she needed.

"I'm just so happy you are ok."

But she wasn't. She needed him to know that. She hurt so deeply inside. She was empty. And even though Lucky was there, she felt alone.

She didn't feel alone when Jason was there.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. Lucky's lips on her forehead caused her to open them again. "Emily is waiting outside. Is it ok if I let her in?"

Not trusting herself to speak, Elizabeth slightly nodded her head. Lucky smiled down at her, squeezed her hand once, before he walked back towards the door. He glanced at her once more before he opened the door and gestured Emily in.

Her best friend walked through the door as Lucky walked outside. He wanted to let Emily spend some time with Elizabeth before he went back in. He also needed to have a talk with Jason.

Jason was leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, gaze directed on the closed door of Elizabeth's room. He was blatantly ignoring Lucky, not looking at him, not paying any attention to him when the younger man cleared his throat.

He had no need to have _small_ talk with the other man.

"We need to talk."

Expression never changing, Jason turned only his gaze to stare at Lucky. He never blinked as he looked at the man who was now standing across from him. When Lucky didn't go on, telling Jason why he felt the need to talk, Jason shrugged his shoulders in impatience, waiting for Lucky to speak.

"I want you to stay away from my fiancée."

Jason narrowed his eyes and ticked his head to the left; his only response to Lucky's demand. Jason could tell that Lucky tried to sound demanding, forceful, but his demand was puny at best, and something Jason would _never_ agree to.

Squaring his shoulders, Lucky took a step closer to Jason. "I don't know what you _think_ is going on between you and Elizabeth, but she doesn't need you in her life."

Stepping away from the wall, Jason straightened to his full height, staring down at Lucky. Still not saying a word.

"Why are you here anyway?"

Jason placed his hands on his hips. He dipped his head, looked to the left, and held back the urge to punch Lucky. Looking him straight in the eye, Jason's voice held no emotion. "I'm here for Elizabeth."

Lucky took a step closer. "Like I said, Elizabeth doesn't need you—"

"That's not for you to decide."

Lucky's calm was quickly diminishing. He never liked the friendship between Jason and Elizabeth. Jason always seemed to cause problems between Lucky and Elizabeth, and Lucky was not about to let Jason come between them again. "She's _my_ fiancée, and I know what's best for her. Leave Elizabeth alone. She just lost her baby and she doesn't need you lurking outside her door, causing trouble."

Outside, Jason looked calm, not even fazed by Lucky's demands. But inside, he wanted nothing more than to shut the other man up; preferably with his fists. He held that need down, knowing that nothing good would come out of it. Sure he would feel better, but Elizabeth would be upset.

And all that mattered at the moment was Elizabeth.

A thought occurred to Jason, something that bothered him earlier that morning while he sat by Elizabeth's side, holding her hand, waiting for her to wake up. Once she did open her eyes, he forgot about everything. But standing there, watching as Lucky tried to seem intimidating but only accomplished in fueling his own anger, Jason remembered. And as much as he did not want to talk to the man standing before him, it was his only choice. His eyes squinted as he looked away before turning back to Lucky. "What was Elizabeth doing out so late?"

Jason saw a flicker of alarm cross through Lucky's face. But just like earlier, when Lucky learned of Elizabeth losing the baby and a look of relief passed over his face, the emotion quickly faded. Jason could tell that Lucky was trying to think of something to say. It only caused Jason to become even more curious. It was odd to him that Elizabeth was out so late. Something had to have happened to cause her to go driving in the middle of the night, and by the way Lucky suddenly clamed up, Jason knew the other man knew why. "What did you—?"

"Why don't you just get the hell out of here Morgan?" Lucky's voice was rising, causing a nurse who passed by to give him a curious glance.

Jason's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something wasn't right and he was going to find out. Before he could ask Lucky anymore questions, questions he knew Lucky wouldn't answer but would help clarify his suspicions, a nurse walked towards Elizabeth's room.

Lucky and Jason followed the nurse inside the room. When the two men stepped through the doorway, Elizabeth's eyes immediately glued in on Jason. Their gazes locked, and Jason saw relief wash over her.

Relief in knowing that he hadn't left the hospital without telling her.

She looked small, fragile, and in pain lying in the hospital bed. Emily was sitting next to her bed, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. But even as Lucky rushed to the other side of Elizabeth's bed, neither tore their gaze away form each other.

The nurse broke the silence. "How are you feeling Elizabeth?" She asked as she walked over to Elizabeth's IV, pulling out a needle and injecting it into her IV.

Still, Elizabeth didn't break eye contact with Jason. "My body aches and my head is pounding, but other than that, I'm…" clearing her throat, Elizabeth looked away from Jason. She knew if she told her lie while she looked at him, he would see right through it. "I'm ok."

"Good, Dr. Meadows will be in shortly to see you. I just gave you another dose of your pain medication so you are going to be very drowsy for the rest of the day. You'll probably be in and out of sleep all day."

As the nurse spoke, Elizabeth's eyes began to droop.

Lucky watched as Elizabeth's eyes became heavy. But every time her eyes opened slightly, they were focused on Jason. Clenching his jaw, Lucky turned his angry gaze towards Jason, knowing that the older man was looking at Elizabeth. His voice was short when he addressed Jason. "Weren't you just about to leave?"

Elizabeth's gaze flew open, panicked and dazed as she glanced at Lucky and then back at Jason. "You're leaving?" There was a slight tint of alarm in her voice.

Lucky touched her cheek. "He probably has a lot to do today Elizabeth. I'm sure he doesn't want to sit at the hospital while you sleep all day."

Jason's hands formed to fists at his sides as he glared at Lucky.

Elizabeth knew she wouldn't be much company. But she still didn't want Jason to leave. She couldn't explain it, but his presence made her feel better, at ease. Her eyes closed for a moment before she forced them back open. Lucky was right though, Jason had a life, he couldn't spend his entire day at the hospital.

"Oh…ok." Her voice was sleepy as her eyes closed again. She forced them open once again, with as much energy as she had and looked up at Jason. He moved from the foot of her bed to stand by the side of her bed next to Emily. She smiled at him as she reached out and took his hand in hers. "Thank you."

Both of them knew what she was thanking him for. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, feeling Lucky's glare on them the entire time and not caring, Jason gave her a small smile. He didn't want to leave. As much as being in the hospital made him feel uneasy, he still did not want to leave her side. But he knew that if he stayed, Lucky was going to do or say something stupid that would upset Elizabeth. Jason would be the bigger man and leave, not wanting to cause Elizabeth any more pain. "I'll come back later."

With his reassurance, Elizabeth was able to close her eyes and give into the need to sleep. Jason gave Emily a small smile as he made his way to the door. She smiled in return but it left her face when Lucky angrily called out to Jason's retreating form. "I don't think you should come back."

Jason didn't turn back to acknowledge Lucky. He didn't even hesitate in his stride as he left Elizabeth's hospital room and made his way to the parking lot where his bike was. He didn't give a shit what Lucky thought. He knew Elizabeth wanted him there, and he would be there.

For her.

As he mounted his bike and pulled away from the hospital, Jason felt the fresh air blowing against his face and took in a deep breath. But no matter how much he _thought_ he needed the fresh air when he was in the hospital. It didn't make him feel any better.

He no longer wanted to be outside on his bike. He wanted to be sitting next to Elizabeth's bed, watching her sleep while he held her hand.

He wanted Elizabeth.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

As her eyes fluttered before opening, Elizabeth felt the weight that had been around her hand ease before the cold air hit her warm hand. She sighed as she began to wake fully. Just like every night since she woke up from her accident, she woke up to find Jason sitting beside her bed.

And just like every night before, Jason had held her hand until she showed signs of waking. He would gently remove his hand from hers as if he didn't want her to know he had been clasping onto her hand. When she finally realized what he was doing, she would pretend to sleep a little longer, liking the feel of him holding her hand. One night, she could have sworn that she had felt a small fluttering of lips against her knuckles, but decided to not think too much of it.

Opening her eyes, Elizabeth stretched as she smiled up at Jason. "Hey."

"Hey." He replied before opening his mouth to ask his next question. Elizabeth's laugh had him closing his mouth on an embarrassed smile.

"No, you didn't wake me." After her first two days in the hospital with no visit from Jason, Elizabeth had began to think that he wasn't going to come back like he had promised. On her third night she had awoken to find Jason sitting beside her bed. She was confused at first but he had explained that he didn't feel right coming during the day when her family would visit her so had been coming during the night to see her. Elizabeth had started to mention how visiting hours ended but stopped and laughed, knowing that Jason wouldn't let something like hospital rules stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

Elizabeth had felt that there was more to him not coming during the day but decided to not question him on it. Instead, for the past five nights, something inside her would make sure that she would wake up just so she could spend some time with Jason. She slept enough in the day from complete boredom to allow herself to stay up for a couple of hours during the night.

"Good," He smiled. "How did today go?"

Elizabeth smiled brightly at the question, remembering the day she had and how she couldn't wait to see Jason to tell him about it. "Today was a really good day. I was able to walk without holding on to the bars and my physical therapist told me that since I was making such good progress that I would be able to leave soon."

His smile was genuine as he took in her happiness. It had been the first time since she woke up from her accident that he had seen her look so happy, give a real smile. Along with the pain of losing her baby, Elizabeth had to deal with the frustrations of physical therapy everyday. She wasn't in such a bad state that she couldn't walk, but from the pain after the accident and the stiffness in her muscles, she had to attend sessions to allow her to get back on her feet.

During her first nights at the hospital she would tell him about her frustrations and how she wanted nothing more than to give up but knew she couldn't because she had to get out of the hospital for her own sanity and for her son. At first, she had tried to hold her emotions back about the therapy and the loss of her baby, but after finally giving in and crying on his shoulder, she playfully slapped him on his chest, telling him that she could never hide her feelings from him.

It made him feel good that he was able to be there for her, even if it was just to listen to her and lend a shoulder for her to lean on. There were times when she would stop crying but would continue to lean on him and it was those times that Jason berated himself for the feelings that ran through him as she would settle against him. He _enjoyed_ the feel of her in his arms. He was supposed to be comforting her but he couldn't help but marvel in how right it felt to hold her.

He had admitted to himself that he wanted her, wanted to be with her, wanted her to _want_ him. But he knew that it was not the right time to think about his feelings for her. He just needed to be there for her.

"The police also came by today."

"What did they have to say?" He asked, true curiosity running through him. Gone was her smile and happiness from the breakthrough she had earlier. The light in her eyes disappeared and in its place was a dimness that tore at his heart.

"They…they said that it was what they expected."

"That the break line was corroded?"

His voice was laced with skepticism, like he didn't believe what the police had discovered after their investigation. Elizabeth sighed. "Lucky's car was really old and we didn't have the money to bring it into the shop every time we heard a weird sound. I honestly don't know when the last time was that he brought the car in."

Something inside him just didn't believe that that was the end of it. Nothing made sense. Elizabeth being out so late, being on the road that she was on. Her car losing control for no reason except for a corroded break line. It could be something as simple as that, but he couldn't leave it at that. Not with what was screaming inside of him.

But instead of voicing his concern, knowing that she didn't need any added worries, Jason decided to wait and talk to Sonny. He wanted to know for sure that the cause of her accident was mechanical and not what was going through his mind.

He didn't want to believe that someone had tampered with the car, but it's what kept coming back to him.

"So, that's the end of this." Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts. "They know what caused the accident and now we can all just… move on I guess."

Jason's soft eyes connected with hers seeing the deep, burning pain she tried to hide from everyone. Her chin quivered and without a word Jason moved forward, taking her hand in his without hesitation. He could feel his heart tugging hard in his chest when the first tear fell from one eye.

By the time more tears began to spill from her eyes, Jason was already sitting on her bed with her. His back against the headboard, Elizabeth's back against his chest, wrapped up in his arms as she mourned the loss of her baby.

He hated to see her cry.

Minutes passed as Elizabeth shed silent tears, Jason's own eye's watered as he thought of the baby. How round Elizabeth's now flat stomach had been, the evidence of that child growing inside her now gone. But what hurt the most, what always caused Jason to feel as if he could share Elizabeth's pain was the memory of her child's first kick. The small flutter against the palm of his hand as he pressed it against her belly.

He felt her child kick, felt the existence of it. He had known before that Elizabeth was pregnant, could see it with her growing stomach, but it was never truly real for him until he felt her kick.

And now she was gone.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed, turning her head to rub her cheek against his chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I do this to you every time you come here. It's just… I hurt so much. You're the only one who makes it better."

Blowing out a breath of air, Jason closed his eyes, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "I just listen."

A sniff. "Exactly."

He didn't respond with words but tightened his arms around her. She turned more in his arms, positioned herself more comfortably against his chest. She slipped an arm around his stomach and returned his squeeze, sighing. "Thank you."

Having her in his arms, being so close to her, it only caused Jason's feelings for her to grow even more. He didn't want to think of how attracted to her he was, inside and out. He didn't want to think about the longing that occurred every time he saw or even thought about her. He didn't want to think of those things but he couldn't help _but_ think along those lines. Especially when she was in his arms.

Several minutes passed before Jason realized that Elizabeth had fallen asleep. He held her a little longer, telling himself that he didn't want to wake her but knowing it was for his own selfish needs that he didn't leave right away.

Gently, Jason removed his arms from around her and got out of the hospital bed. He stood there for a moment, taking in the softness of her expression as she slept. The pain she was just feeling moments before was gone except for the evidence of the dry tears on her cheeks. Absently, Jason reached out and ran his thumb over her cheek, but he didn't stop there. Not thinking, he cupped her cheek in his hand, leaned down and softly brushed his lips against hers. When she sighed and turned her cheek into his palm, all of the air left his lungs.

She was beautiful.

Stepping back before he did anything more, Jason walked towards the door. He looked back once his hand curved around the handle. Seeing her lying in the bed he couldn't help but wish that he didn't have to leave. He wanted nothing more than to go back to her bed and hold her while they both slept.

He sighed as he walked out of the room.

* * *

"I have some good news."

Glancing up at the cheerful voice of her friend, Elizabeth gave Bobbie a small, tight smile.

"Your doctor has decided that you are ready to go home as long as you agree to come back regularly until your physical therapy is complete."

"I get to go home today?"

"Yes, you do."

Elizabeth leaned her head back against her pillow and sighed in relief. She was finally going to be able to leave this place. It was one thing to come to the hospital almost every day to work, but to have to live in the hospital as a patient was horrible.

"All you need to do is sign some paperwork." Bobbie said. "And then you are free to go. But don't think I won't be stopping by at anytime to check up on you." She added with a teasing smile.

"Thanks, Bobbie."

Elizabeth spent most of her morning signing paperwork and waiting as the papers were processed. She was anxious to get home and, even though she knew how long the paperwork took, couldn't help but become annoyed with the wait. Just when she was about to roll out of bed and prepare herself for her departure a nurse walked in.

"You're all set to go. You're change of clothes are in the closet. Have you called anyone to pick you up?"

"Actually, no." She had been waiting for Lucky to come and visit her like he had every morning and didn't think to call him. "I'll call right now."

Picking up the phone next to her bed, Elizabeth began to dial. She paused on the sixth number realizing that it wasn't Lucky's number she was dialing. Her forehead scrunched in confusion at the slight but instead of hanging up and fixing her mistake, she finished dialing.

It only rang twice before the other end picked up.

"Can you come pick me up?"

* * *

It felt like a lifetime since she had been home. Everything seemed the same to her. Nothing was out of place. The couch, the television, the coffee table… Stopping her gaze around the room, Elizabeth glanced back at the coffee table, a rolling sensation taking over her stomach. When she closed her eyes she could see the image perfectly, as if she were living through it again rather than remembering her baby's first kick.

Her hand moved to her now flat stomach and began to rub. If she thought hard enough she could feel the flutter against her hand. A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn around and look at Jason as he stood behind her. She didn't know that she was crying until he gently cupped her cheek and used his thumb to swipe away the tears.

He didn't have to ask, the question was in his eyes. "I just," clearing her throat against the large lump that was ever present since she woke up in the hospital, she continued. "I just remembered something from the day of my accident. I remembered before, how Cameron was walking back and forth between the two of us, but that's as far as the memory went, until now." She closed her eyes as Jason gently tugged her towards him. Even though she knew he knew what the memory was, she had to say it out loud. It was hard, but being in his arms made it easier. "I felt the baby kick, _we_ felt the baby kick." She felt his arms tighten around her. "And now she's gone."

Gripping onto his sides, Elizabeth savored his strength before she pulled away, swiping angrily at her cheeks. "God, I hate this."

"What?"

"This." She gestured to herself. "Every time I'm with you I'm crying, I try to hold back but I can't. I don't want to feel this anymore, I don't want to cry. I just want everything to be nor…" She couldn't finish as another large lump settled in her throat. Bending her head, she ran her fingers through her hair.

Jason had her in his arms again. His chest hurt. Watching her cry, hearing the pain in her voice, it killed him. "It's ok to cry."

She calmed down before giving a short laugh, her attempt to ease the situation. "You must be sick of me crying all over you."

"I don't mind." He smiled.

He let her slip out of his embrace. They both seemed reluctant to let go, but knew they couldn't stand there all day in each others arms. No matter how much that would have appealed to him, Jason thought.

"You wouldn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jason asked, finding it safe to smile since a small smile was gracing her face.

"Nothing," she smirked but shrugged when he raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You just, you have this way of just letting me be. It's always so simple with you. I can cry, I can laugh. I can even scream my head off if I wanted to."

They shared a knowing smile remembering the one night Elizabeth screamed in frustration and threw her pillow across the room after a trying day at the physical therapist. Jason had simply walked towards the pillow, picked it up and handed it back to her, only to have her throw it at him instead. Elizabeth was the first to look away and when she looked towards Cameron's room a frown formed her lips. Without saying a word she walked towards the room. Jason followed her with his eyes and was about to go into the room with her but didn't have to move since Elizabeth came walked right back out. The look on her face told him that whatever was in that room upset her.

"Everything's gone."

"What?"

She hadn't even realized she spoke out loud and was a bit startled at the sound of Jason's voice. She lifted her glassy eyes to his, repeating, "Everything's gone."

He took a step closer, stopped and spoke in a soft voice. "What's gone?"

Elizabeth shook her head and took a deep breath. She ran her hand through her hair as she walked towards the couch and sat down. Tucking her feet under her, she turned to look at him but didn't really _see_ him. "I didn't know that my baby was going to be a girl until…until I woke up in the hospital and she was gone. But for some reason, I just _knew_ that she was going to be a girl. So every time I would go shopping and had some extra money I would pick up little things. A pink blanket that I planned on…on wrapping her in when she came home from the hospital, some pink little outfits with flowers and…" smiling, she continued "and there was this one dress that I bought. It had ruffles all along the bottom and fluffed out from the waist. I would just hold it and imagine a beautiful baby girl, my beautiful baby girl wearing it with the matching shoes."

"I put them in Cameron's room because we really don't have any room around here, but now everything is gone. The dress, the blanket, even this soft teddy bear that I wanted to put in her crib with her."

By the time she finished, Jason had already taken a seat on the couch next to her. He didn't touch her, didn't bring her into his arms like he wanted nothing more than to do. When she looked at him this time he could tell that she was actually looking at him again rather than through him.

"Lucky must have gotten rid of everything."

"Did…did you want it all to be here when you got back?"

Sighing, Elizabeth leaned back against the couch. "You don't remember this, but when Sam had lost her baby I came to talk to you. You and my brother Steven, who was her doctor, you were talking and he said something to upset you. I don't know what he said but when he left we started to talk about the nursery you two set up…"

"_She's going to need you. Her feelings are -- God, they're going to be so complicated. It was so close to her due date. I'm sure you guys have a ton of baby stuff all over." Elizabeth's tone was soft, regretful. _

"_Yeah, the nursery's all ready." Jason replied. The thought of the nursery already furnished needing nothing more than a baby to fill it caused his heart to bleed. That baby wasn't coming. She was dead now._

"_You need to be there with her when she packs it all away. She might tell you that she wants to do it all alone, but I wouldn't -- I wouldn't let her."_

_He didn't want Sam to have to go through that, to pack away her child's things. "Maybe I can just, you know, do it for her so she doesn't have to deal with it."_

"_Yeah, but if you go home and you erase any trace of the baby, it's kind of as if the baby never existed, you know? You and Sam prepared for the arrival of this baby together, and it'd be a good idea if you mourn together. Because, Jason, the pain you feel right now is nothing compared with how it's going to feel." _

There was no headache this time, no pain at all. It was just like a normal memory. As she told him about it, Jason could remember that day like he had never forgotten it. Until now, every memory before had caused him so much pain he nearly passed out because of it. Confused, Jason decided to not think about it right then and listen to Elizabeth instead.

"I had told you that if you got rid of everything before Sam came home, it would be like there was never a baby."

Their eyes connected and Jason understood. For her to come home and see that all of the belongings she had bought for her baby were gone… Was there ever going to be an ease to her pain?

Her head was leaning against the back of the couch. She had her eyes closed but opened them as she turned her head to look at Jason. "You know what I just realized?"

Her hand on his surprised him more than the change of her tone and, most likely, subject. "What?"

"I haven't told you about our past since I woke up from the hospital." She scrunched her nose, "When was the last time I told you about us?"

"You," he cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "You stopped by Jake's… that night. We played some pool and you told me about when I came back to town and hid in your studio..."

Her frown grew deeper. She shrugged; a smile that was a cross between being bitter and ironic appeared. "I can't remember telling you."

In a way, it was good that she couldn't remember what happened that night at Jakes. She had left right after they kissed, seemed as surprised as he was that they had even kissed. She had pulled away from him and left making him think that he had just ruined the friendship they were building because of that kiss. He didn't want her to have to question what had happened, knew all too well how frustrating it was to not remember things. But if she didn't remember the kiss… He didn't want to cause her more problems and that's what the memory of the kiss would cause. Problems.

"Is that when the accident happened? When I left Jakes?"

"No, you went home right after you left." He didn't know if he should tell her, but it was because of the guard he put on her that he knew she went straight home before leaving after only being there for twenty minutes. It was because of Eddie, the guard Sonny had assigned to Elizabeth upon Jason's request, that Elizabeth was found so soon after her accident. Eddie had followed her from Jakes to her apartment to where she went to her Grams and had even followed her to the cliff roads where the accident happened. The young guard had told Jason about how she spent hours sitting in front of her grandmother's house before she finally took off and ended up flipping her car.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I promised you that I would tell you about us, and for the past couple of days I haven't—"

"Hey, hey," he interrupted. "It's ok. As much as I like learning about us, I didn't expect you to tell me anything. You've had a lot to deal with."

He had been having some memories since her accident and he did have questions, but he thought it better to wait until he felt right about asking her again. He would just continue to try and piece together the memories he was having of the two of them.

"It would have helped though." At his questioning look, she clarified. "Talking about us would have taken my mind off of everything, even if just for a little while."

Jason looked away, nodding his head slightly. He didn't think of it that way. Maybe if they had talked about their past, maybe if he had brought up his memories and the questions that kept bothering him as to what was happening during each memory, she might have been able to deal with the pain a little easier. "Would you… can you answer some questions for me?" He asked, thinking that it might be a good idea to bring his memories up now, hoping it might help her with the discovery of all of her baby's belongings being gone.

"Sure." She turned to face him fully. Her face lit up and Jason knew that this was a good idea. "Have you remembered anything else? Jason, you can—."

"Hey, what's going on?"

Jason turned and Elizabeth looked up to see Lucky standing in the entrance of the apartment. His stance was rigid, a sure sign that he was displeased with what he was seeing. But as his gaze turned to Elizabeth he actually smiled, attempting to not let his anger show. Jason caught on, Elizabeth didn't.

"I went to the hospital to see you and they told me you had checked out. Why didn't you call me?"

Both Jason and Elizabeth stood to face Lucky. Elizabeth sighed. "Since you hadn't come to see me already I figured you were busy and decided to call Jason instead. I meant to call you when I got home but I forgot I guess."

Lucky smiled reassuringly. "That's ok, I was just worried, but now that I see your ok, everything is fine." An awkward silence fell upon the three of them causing Lucky to glance at Jason and say tightly. "Thank you for getting her home safe."

"No problem."

Lucky's face tightened. "I think I can take it from here."

"Lucky."

"It's alright Elizabeth." Jason said, turning to face her and give Lucky his back. "I should go. I have to meet with Tony to discuss my treatment."

"Oh, ok." She placed her hand on his forearm as he turned to leave and took a step closer. "I'll call you and we can finish what we were talking about."

Once Jason was gone, Lucky couldn't hold back his annoyance. He didn't want to confront Elizabeth with what he was feeling, especially since she just got out of the hospital. But the exchange that just occurred between them set him over.

Elizabeth's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Why are you trying to make it seem like my baby never existed?"

* * *

It was positive.

Her hand fell upon her stomach; her mouth formed a slow smile.

She couldn't believe it. This was too good to be true. For so long she had wanted nothing more than this, had built her life around this. Everything seemed to happen to prevent this from happening, but it was finally happening for her.

She was pregnant.

And it couldn't have happened at a better time.

Placing the pregnancy test on the sink, she walked out of the huge bathroom and to the phone that was beside the bed. She glanced down at the number written on the scrap piece of paper. She had to flirt a little with a guard in order to get this number but it was worth it.

His voice was hesitant as he answered on the other end. She rolled her eyes at his reluctance to talk to her. But before her anger could escalade, she remembered that she was pregnant and everything was going to be fixed again.

"Jason, its Sam… Don't hang up! Please, just…we really need to talk."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Everything was perfect.

Candles littered the table along with cartons filled with Chinese food. The penthouse was dimmed, making the soft light from the candles glow against the darkened room. It was the perfect setting to get him back.

And how could he refuse after she told him her wonderful news. It also didn't hurt that she was wearing her most revealing dress.

The soft rap against the door stirred her into action. This was it; she was finally going to have him back again.

Opening the door, slowly for the dramatics of showing herself off, Sam smiled with a seductive gleam in her eye. "I'm so glad you came."

She stepped back, gesturing him inside.

Jason stood in the doorway, unmoving. He should have known better, he shouldn't have come here. The room was filled with candles, suggesting a romantic night. Sam had told him that she had something important to tell him, something that she couldn't tell him over the phone. She even promised that this had nothing to do with getting him to move back with her, but clearly, she was lying.

"I should go."

"No!" Sam shouted, gripping onto his arm only to loosen her grip and soften her voice. Tears would help, they always did. "Please… please don't go."

Eyes welling up with tears, Sam pleaded with him. "I have to talk to you."

Since the moment he woken up and saw her, every time he got mad or tried to have time to himself without her, Sam's eyes would always well up with tears and at times he would soften and give in to her. But since he moved into Jakes and hardly ever saw her, the tears didn't do much for him. He felt bad for her, especially since he was supposed to be in love with her and he couldn't imagine how she must have felt, but he couldn't help her anymore. He wasn't the man she wanted him to be.

Without a word, Jason turned around. He didn't make it two steps before she shouted at him.

"I'm pregnant."

That stopped him. His entire body tensed, not a muscle moved for a moment. Her voice forced its way through his shock. He could hear the tears in her voice.

"I didn't want to tell you like this. God, Jason, I had this all planned out. You would come in; we'd eat our favorite meal and talk, maybe even laugh together, like old times. Then I'd tell you and… that's it. I just wanted to tell you. This isn't some type of trap or anyth—"

"Is it mine?" He asked, slowly turning around.

Her eyes opened in shock, her mouth formed a thin, angry line. "Of course it is!" He only stood there, staring at her. "Just come in a sit down."

He moved into the room but didn't sit. Sam's expression pleaded with him to sit. "I don't want to sit." He didn't want to stay; he didn't want to hear this.

"Of course this child is yours, Jason. We were together several times before you lost your memory. But I know the night we conceived." She smiled; a dreamy look in her eyes. "It was a beautiful night. We had Chinese food, you carried me upstairs and—"

"I don't want to hear this." He sighed, an angry arm slashing through the air.

"You need to hear this. You need to know what we were and how much we love each other. Then…then maybe you wouldn't try so hard to deny we are meant to be together." She walked over to him, grabbed his hands and held on tight when he tried to pull away. "We made a life together, out of love. Don't stay away from me anymore; don't stay away from your child."

He didn't need this, not right now. He hardly even knew who the hell he was and now he was going to be a father. It wasn't the kid's fault, though.

"This baby could make you remember me." She moved closer. "Maybe we could recreate that night to celebrate this miracle."

Brow furrowed, Jason took a step back. "No."

Her face fell. "But we made a baby together."

Scrubbing his hands over his face, Jason stalked away. So many emotions were running though him. Anger, confusion, hurt, sadness. But none of that, none of his feelings changed the fact that there was a child who was going to depend on him now. Just when he was starting to get his life back on tract, even though memories were coming back to him, all of Elizabeth, he was finally starting a new life. And now this, something that would bring him back into the life he was trying to get away from, a life he couldn't even remember.

He wanted so badly to hit something, to ram his fist into the wall before him. But he held back. "I-I need time to think." He started; his voice scratchy with emotion.

"What's there to think about? We have a baby together and now we need to be together to raise this child." She was panicking once he turned around and began to walk towards the door. "You of all people would say that this baby needs its mother and father to be together and love it. Please!"

He turned around, looked at the woman standing before him. This baby would change things, he would have to allow Sam in his life, but he didn't have to let Sam be his life. Not like she wanted it to be. "I will love this child and be a father to it."

With that he walked to the door and out of the penthouse. He didn't look back when she called out to him.

"This baby needs both of us together. A child deserves to have two loving parents who also love each other!"

She was right. A child did deserve loving parents, and he would do all he could to love his child and give it a good life. He just couldn't see himself loving Sam and being with her.

He walked past the elevator and towards the stairs.

Sam watched him leave. Once the door to the stairs closed behind him she slammed the penthouse door. The crash didn't do enough to satisfy her anger. Turning around, she glanced at the uneaten Chinese food, the wax dripping off of the candles that did nothing to help set a romantic mood. She walked to the table with angry strides, swiping her arms across the surface and felt a slight satisfaction at seeing everything that once littered the table fall to the floor.

Her anger didn't end there. It didn't end with ripping the pillows off of the couch, or throwing the chairs across the room; it didn't even end when she threw several glasses against the fire place and finally stopped. She had a feeling that the anger would never end until Jason finally remembered who they were to each other.

Walking towards the desk, Sam picked up the phone and dialed the number to the person she knew would help her get rid of some of this angry energy.

* * *

"_Why are you trying to make it seem like my baby never existed?" _

The question echoed through the small apartment, screaming in Elizabeth's ears, ringing in Lucky's.

Staring at her in bafflement, Lucky stood frozen in place. The anger from seeing her with Jason when he walked into their apartment still simmered through him. "What do you mean?"

She was suddenly feeling cold. Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Elizabeth looked away. "I came home from the hospital to find all of her things gone. You got rid of them. Why?"

"I thought it would be easier for you if you didn't have all of those things to remind you."

"All of those things? Those things belonged to my baby and you just got rid of them." Her voice was hardening. She allowed her gaze to lock with his, let him see her anger and hurt. "I just lost her; I don't want to forget about her."

Shaking his head, Lucky stalked over to the couch where she sat and sat down next to her. His body was turned towards hers, crowding her. When he tried to reach for her hand, she pulled away. His anger grew. "What did you want to do, Elizabeth? Come home and go through all of its things and cry? The baby's gone, you need to move on."

"It's only been two weeks!" Not wanting to be near him, she stood up and walked around the living room, giving him her back. "You've been against this baby from the beginning. It doesn't matter that she was a part of me, you never wanted her. You—"

"She wasn't going to be our baby! You were going to give her away to another couple!"

"We don't need to go over that again." She spoke quietly, too quietly. She still kept her back to him. She was sick and tired of explaining to him why she offered to give Jax and Courtney a child. They were a couple in love who wanted but couldn't have a child. She thought they deserved a chance at a family and wanted to help them. She also wanted to help Lucky and get out of dept so that they could move on with their lives. He didn't understand that when they first agreed to her being a surrogate and he still didn't understand it.

Turning towards him, Elizabeth's voice remained whisper soft. "Once Jax and Courtney broke up, we were going to share custody of the baby with Jax. She was going to be in our lives and you still couldn't accept it."

"You're right!" He exploded. "She wasn't my child and I couldn't accept that you were having another mans baby. Could you really blame me? Do you know how hard it was to see your stomach grow, to see you excited about having a baby and know, know all along, that that baby wasn't mine?"

"It's not like I slept with him. It's not like I cheated on you and that's why I was pregnant. Lucky," her voice softened. "It doesn't matter that Jax was the biological father. You would have been just as much of a father to that baby as he would have been."

"It's not the same."

Staring at him, Elizabeth shook her head, a single tear slipping past her lashes. "What happened to you?" She whispered. "It shouldn't matter that she wasn't your baby by blood, if you love me, it shouldn't—"

The ringing of his cell interrupted her. Her eyes begged him not to answer it, to let it ring and let them finish this. He looked at the caller ID, answered it.

"Yeah?"

"_It's me. I need you to come over. Now."_

Looking at Elizabeth, the broken expression across her face, the tears falling from her eyes, Lucky shook his head. He didn't need her to yell at him, to tell him what a horrible person he was for trying to help her. The baby wasn't his, and yes, he did hurt for her for loosing the child, but he wasn't the father. Jax was.

Clenching his hand around the phone, Lucky locked his gaze with Elizabeth's as he answered. "I'll be right there."

Hanging up the phone, Lucky looked away. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" She sniffed, taking a step towards him then stopping.

"It's work."

"Lucky, please." She touched his arm, made him look at her. "I need you right now. I don't…" another tear slid down her cheek, her chin wobbled. She swallowed and when she spoke, her throat hurt. "I don't want to be alone right now."

Seconds before she was accusing him of not caring about her child and now she was begging him to stay. It was most likely to yell at him some more. Anger from their previous fight, anger at seeing Jason in his home, made him lash out.

"Why don't you call Jason? I'm sure he'll rush right over."

Her hand slipped away from his arm as he walked out the door. Getting in Elizabeth's car, Lucky headed towards Sam.

* * *

An hour later there was a soft rap against the front door of her apartment. She knew it wasn't Lucky, he wouldn't knock. Hoping it was Jason, Elizabeth wiped her hands across her face several times to hide the evidence of her crying. No matter how hard she tried to stop, she couldn't.

Bending her head, Elizabeth opened the door to give the best smile she could at Jason but he wasn't standing there.

Jax was.

He immediately rushed forward at seeing her tear stained face. "Hey, you ok?" He asked, enveloping her in a strong hug.

She sighed against his chest, happy to feel the support of his arms around her. This was all she needed. To be held, to feel like she could let go and not be ashamed of it. And she did let go, all over his—most likely very expensive—suit jacket.

Minutes passed before she shook herself out of her tears, taking a step back. When she finally looked into his concerned filled face, Elizabeth smile reassuringly, "I'm good… I'm better. I think I just really needed that."

Stepping into her apartment, Jax cast his most charming smile. "I'll be happy to let you cry on my shoulder any time you want to."

Laughing a little, Elizabeth led the way to her couch. "I'll be sure to warn you ahead of time. That way you can change you shirt into something a little less expensive." Scrunching her nose, she raised her eyebrows. "Do you even own anything other than suits?"

Tapping her shoulder, Jax laughed. "As a matter of fact, I do. I'm not always about business, you know."

Smiling, Elizabeth looked away then met his kind blue eyes again. "What are you doing here?"

The smile slipped from his face, he looked down at his lap. "I wanted to talk to you about …" his voice broke making him blink several times before he continued. "About having a memorial for her."

"I haven't even…" Her voice trailed off, tears began to cloud her vision again.

"I don't want anything big." Jax voice was firm, but she could see the pain in his eyes. "I was hoping we could have a small memorial to lay our baby to rest, peacefully."

Nodding, Elizabeth let her tears fall. "That would be nice."

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Placing her hand over his, Elizabeth gave it a gentle squeeze. "We need to do this, together. You lost a child, too."

"I still can't believe it. One minute I was going to be a dad and the next…" Clearing his throat, Jax let his emotion show. "And the next she's gone."

"I'm so sorry. It was my job to protect her and I—"

"Hey," he spoke firmly, "It's not your fault, this is not your fault. I don't blame you in any way and you better not be blaming yourself."

"I'm trying not to, but it's hard."

"I know." Clearing his throat, Jax rose. "I'll make some of the arrangements and call you so we can agree on what to do."

She nodded, gave a gentle smile.

Staring down at her, Jax put his hands in his suit pants. "Do you want me to stay? I can cancel some of my meetings if you don't want to be alone."

"No… no. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure, I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll be ok. I'm going to leave anyway. I have someone I need to see."

Once Jax was gone, after convincing him some more that she was going to be ok, Elizabeth picked up her phone. The phone rang two times before the gentle voice of her grandmother answered. "Grams, it's me, Elizabeth….I'm fine, I was just wondering if you could watch Cameron a little while longer. There's something I need to take care of before I pick him up."

* * *

The door to his living room opened, causing Sonny to look up from the paperwork in front of him. Jason stood there, an odd expression on his face.

Sonny rose from his chair, gestured Jason inside. "Hey, come in." Once he was inside the room, Sonny sat back down. "What's up?"

"Sam's pregnant."

Jason didn't know why he was here; why he came here after his appointment with Tony Jones, but he needed someone to talk to and though he would turn to Elizabeth, he didn't think right now would be a good time to come to her about something like this.

So his next instinct was to come here, to Sonny's.

Sitting back in his chair, Sonny let out a long breath. He was at a loss for words. "Wow, man. I…"

"She says its mine."

"It probably is." Sonny answered. When Jason just stared at him, Sonny held up his hands. "You and Sam loved each other, lived together. It hasn't been that long since you lost your memory. You and Sam were probably trying to start a family before what happened."

Lifting his arms from his side, Jason shrugged. "I can't change what happened. I don't remember her. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"Do you have to figure it out right now?"

"How can I not?" Jason asked, fixing Sonny with a wide eyed expression. "I just found out I'm going to be a father, how can I not try to figure out what to do?"

Sonny shook his head, wanting to help his friend but not knowing how.

Jason sat down, rested his elbow on his thigh, his cheek in his hand. "Sam thinks that this can bring us back together. She thinks I'll remember her and our love and be with her and the baby." Sighing, he shook his head, rubbed his hand over his face. "That won't happen, I've changed."

Voice low, Sonny clicked his tongue. "You can't be sure of that."

"What I know now is that I don't love her. I can't be with her and allow her to hope for something that I know wont happen." Standing, Jason walked towards the windows and looked out. "I think Elizabeth's accident wasn't an accident."

He turned around to see Sonny's expression. Other than the mild look of shock that passed his face then left, Sonny's expression never changed.

"Why would you think that?"

"I just have this feeling." He answered his voice firm and determined. "I think someone tampered with her car. I think Manny tampered with Lucky's car. He was probably after Lucky and Elizabeth ended up in the middle some how. I have this feeling that Manny is behind this."

"Ok." Sonny agreed immediately. "I'll put someone on it. There might be a problem though. Her car accident was two weeks. If there is any evidence to the car being tampered with, it's probably already been covered."

"You said that Manny was working with Alcazar. There has to be some way to figure out if they had anything to do with the accident."

Sonny wanted to ask him what he planned on doing if they were able to prove that it was Manny and Alcazar's fault that Elizabeth was in her accident, but he held back. He still wanted Jason back in the business, but he also wanted to have him back as a friend as well. They were slowly getting their friendship back; Sonny didn't want to make a mistake by pushing Jason away.

"How is Elizabeth?"

"She's doing better. She can walk on her own. But she still limps a little if she pushes herself." He suddenly felt very old and very tired. Sitting back down on the couch, Jason pressed his elbows into his knees, needing the slight pain that went along with the sharpness. "I hate seeing her in pain."

Clearing his throat, Jason stared into his open palms. "I hated to see her struggle when she had to start walking again. I just wanted to help her, to make all the pain go away. But I couldn't."

Sonny listened, didn't say a word as Jason spoke about Elizabeth.

"It kills me to see her cry and know that there isn't anything I can do about it. She says that I help her by just listening, but she still cries."

He sounded so helpless, lost.

His eyes connected with Sonny's. No longer did Sonny see a man struggling to keep everyone away. Before him sat Jason, the man he knew before he lost his memory. His expression was open, allowing Sonny to see the pain and something else behind his eyes.

"There might be another answer to why you can't be with Sam again."

Confused, Jason's eyebrows furrowed, his hands dropped to lay slack against his thighs. "What does this have to do with Sam?"

"You can't see yourself trying to reconnect with Sam because of Elizabeth." Sonny answered, gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "You're in love with Elizabeth."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

She had hardly opened the door before he was on her, fusing his lips to hers. The kiss wasn't gentle, they never were. He took control of her mouth, pulling her against him and squeezing her in a tight embrace.

She kissed him back with as much intensity. She needed this. After the disappointment of all that she had planned she needed a release and Lucky Spencer was the perfect man for that.

That was, of course, until she got Jason back.

Pulling away from Lucky, Sam gasped for breath and planted her hand against his chest as he tried to pull her back towards him.

"I don't want to talk right now," Lucky said, ignoring her hand. "Make me forget first, and then you can tell me whatever the hell you called me over here for."

Sam backed up. Even though she wanted nothing more than to be with Lucky at that moment, she had a plan to set in motion, "This has to stop."

Lucky stared at her, his eyes widening in anger. "You called me all the way over here to tell me that you wanted to end this?"

She took a deep breath, acting like the perfect submissive woman. It hadn't taken her long to know that's what Lucky liked. He wanted a woman who would do whatever he said, whenever he said it. She could do that. "I'm sorry," her voice cracked. "You've been great but something's changed."

"What?" he snapped annoyed.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered as her gaze locked on the floor. Her head snapped up at his curse.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

His eyes were wild, his stance rigid. Sam took a step back, telling herself it was the act but knowing there was a part of her that was a little fearful, "It's not yours."

His eyes widened. "How can it not be mine? We've been slee—"

"The baby's Jason's," she announced and continued before he could interrupt her. "We were together before we came home and your girlfriend got to him." Bitterness laced her words.

"Jason's the father? How can you be sure?"

Sam sighed, wiping her hands against her mouth before she dropped them to her sides, "I went to the clinic and they told me that my conception date was a couple of weeks before we started sleeping together." It was a lie, of course.

Relief made Lucky's body relax. "Good," he sighed, smiling. "That would have been a mess if it turned out differently."

"It could turn out differently," she whispered. When Lucky's smile faltered and he only continued to stare at her, confused, she stepped forward. "Jason and Elizabeth have been spending a lot of time together. If we continue to let them get close, we'll lose them."

"I'm not going to lose Elizabeth."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked with urgency. "Elizabeth's in an emotional state right now and Jason's just the guy for her to lean on. He'll listen to her and she'll fall right into his arms. We," she gestured back and forth between them. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen."

As much as Lucky didn't want to believe her, he'd seen it with his own eyes. This wasn't the first time that Elizabeth and Jason got close. Years ago it almost ruined their relationship. "What do you want me to do?"

"First," she smiled, moving closer to him until she could run her hands up his chest. "I want to get back to what we were doing when you first got here. This may be our last time together after all. Then, we'll plan how we're going to keep them apart."

Standing on her tiptoes, Sam placed her mouth against Lucky's hard enough to hide her smile.

He was playing right into her hands.

* * *

Before Jason could answer Sonny, before he could even think about what Sonny had said, his phone rang. "Yeah?" he answered. 

"_Hey, it's me. Do you think you could come by?"_

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

"_Jason?"_

"Hmm?"

"_Bring your bike."_

Hanging up the phone, Jason turned his head to look at Sonny. "I have to go."

"Was that Elizabeth?"

Since she sounded urgent, like she needed him as quickly as possible, Jason began to walk out of the room without looking back. Absently, he answered Sonny, "Yeah."

Using the side of his thumb to scratch his eyebrow, Sonny took a step toward Jason's retreating figure. "Is she ok?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Elizabeth was already waiting for him outside when he showed up at her apartment. She didn't give him a chance to dismount before she grabbed the helmet on the back of his bike and mounted up behind him. Placing her arms tightly around his middle, she rested her cheek on his back and whispered, "Take me to Vista Pointe." 

Elizabeth didn't allow herself to enjoy the ride. She kept her head against his back, her arms wrapped around him, savoring his strength. She needed that, strength, someone to lean on.

And she knew she could get it from Jason, even if he didn't remember much about their past.

When they finally arrived at Vista Pointe, Elizabeth dismounted first then began the walk up to the stairs to their spot. They hadn't been there for a long time, she hadn't thought of it as _their _spot for a long time, but being there with him, she knew it was still theirs and always would be.

She sat down on the bench, waited for Jason to sit next to her. She knew he wouldn't pry her for information even though he was worried. He would let her tell him what was wrong, what she called him for.

Taking in a deep breath, Elizabeth stared off into the distance. "Jax came by right before I called you," she swallowed hard, feeling Jason's gaze on her profile. "He wanted to talk to me about having a memorial for our daughter."

He continued to look at her, not saying a word but taking her hand in his, squeezing gently to let her know he would wait for her to continue.

"I hadn't even thought of it."

He didn't like the anger in her tone, like she was blaming herself somehow. "You were going through a lot."

"I still should have thought about saying goodbye to my daughter," she bit out in anger toward herself, not Jason. "This hurts so much and the one person I should be able to lean on, the one man who should be there for me isn't."

Her throat grew scratchy as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm hurting so much inside and all I want is for Lucky to be there for me but he would rather fight with me about you." She turned to look at him. "I thought everything was going good between me and Lucky before my accident. But after you left earlier, we got into this huge fight and he basically admitted that he didn't want her.

"I just don't get it," she sniffed, wiping away the tears that fell. "Maybe…maybe we got into a fight before my accident," she whispered as her forehead creased into a frown. "It doesn't make since that I was out that late. Maybe we got into a fight about the baby and I left. Do you think that might be why he's so angry?"

Jason shrugged. "The only way to find out would be to ask him."

"Or remember what happened," she murmured with a droop of her shoulders.

They looked out at the view in silence before Elizabeth turned her gaze back to his profile, noticing the frown marring his normally smooth face. "What's wrong?"

Looking at her, Jason knew now was not the time to tell her what he had just found out. Shaking his head, he lowered his eyes, "Nothing."

"Come on Jason," she urged. Unlike him, she wasn't able to sit and wait for him to open up to her, she was impatient like that. "I know you and I know when something is bothering you. Maybe I could help like you always help me. We both know I talk too much."

"I like to listen to you," he spoke softly as a slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He could tell his words affected her when she smiled prettily and sat up straighter.

"Well, I like to listen to you, too. So spill."

Sighing, Jason rubbed his forehead, not wanting to tell her but, for some reason, feeling she had the right to know. "I saw Sam earlier," he paused, not able to look at her. "She told me she's…pregnant." He glanced up at her and immediately wished he could take the words back. The smile she had been wearing, one of the only genuine ones he had seen on her since her accident, disappeared slowly.

Elizabeth sat back, pulling away from him. The thought of Jason being a father, it was something that should have excited her since she knew he would be such a great one, but it saddened her instead. Partly because she had just lost her own child and partly because he was going to be a father to another woman's child.

She shouldn't have felt that way. There was no reason to think that way. It confused her.

Swallowing, Elizabeth smiled tightly, not able to hide her feelings as well as she wanted to. "Congratulations."

"You're… ok?"

"I'm fine," she answered breezily.

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"Really, it's ok. I'm glad you told me. You _can_ talk to me, you know."

He nodded, looking down.

Standing from the bench, Elizabeth walked towards the railing and looked out over the view of Port Charles. She dipped her head, willed the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes away. "What are you going to do," she whispered. "Are you going to get back together with Sam?"

"I should. I know it would be the right thing for the baby, to have two parents together. But it doesn't _feel_ right."

Standing, Jason stepped up behind her but not close enough to touch her. Placing his hands in his pockets, he spoke to her back, "I don't have any feelings for Sam. I tried to at first, when she would tell me about how we were together. But I don't feel. How can I be with her, knowing I don't love her."

"A child deserves to live in a home with parent's who love each other," she whispered. "But, a child can still have a good life if his or her parent's aren't together, as long as the parents love that child." She still didn't turn around but continued to look at the city below. "But who knows, you might fall in love with Sam again."

"I won't."

"You sound so sure."

Not able to explain, not in words, Jason took a step closer, was just about to reach out to her when his vision blurred slightly. Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. There was no pain, just an uncomfortable ringing that didn't stop until he turned away from Elizabeth.

And it was almost like he was brought back in time.

He could see her, staring up at him. Her hair was shorter and she was wearing a dress. She was looking up at him with something he couldn't define in her eyes, maybe it was love, or maybe it was something that couldn't be described with words. There was a slight sheen in her eyes and before he knew it, he was cupping her face, bringing his lips down to hers.

He could feel it like it was happening to him right at that moment. He had kissed her with such intensity, such need, that he hadn't wanted it to stop, but he knew it had to.

At that time, he knew that he was kissing her goodbye.

Jason shook his head again, wanting to remember the rest of what happened that day, but almost afraid to.

When he had pulled away, she had looked up at him with awe, and then he had walked away. Too afraid to stay and face what had happened.

Jason turned back around to look at Elizabeth, hoping she didn't notice what had happened to him. He didn't want her to make a fuss about going to the hospital, like she always did when he had a memory around her. He just wanted to stay with her with no one else around to bother them.

When she turned around to look at him, Jason knew she hadn't noticed what had just happened. And when she smiled up at him, looking more beautiful than he could remember, Jason also knew that Sonny was right.

He was in love with her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Elizabeth watched as the sun set, creating an orange glow against the sky. Her fingers itched for a paint brush, something she hadn't touched in a long time.

The painting she yearned to create began to form in her mind and she knew it would be a painting she would treasure forever. If only she could paint it.

The orange glow of the setting sun would create the perfect atmosphere, like it did that moment. At the center of the canvas would be her son, sitting and laughing in the park's swing as Jason pushed him from behind, a grin lifting the side of his mouth.

The two of them made the picture of the perfect father-son moment and Elizabeth knew Jason would make a wonderful father.

She envied Sam.

There was a time in her life that Elizabeth had allowed herself to imagine a life with Jason, carrying his children, spending the rest of her life with him. But that had changed a long time ago.

Now, growing close to him again, even if he didn't remember everything, those memories of hopes began to resurface. She knew it was something she couldn't think too much about, she was with Lucky.

And, now, Jason was going to be a father.

He said that he couldn't see himself falling back in love with Sam, but Elizabeth couldn't be so sure of that. Jason and Sam had bonded over a baby and fell in love once, what was to stop them from doing the same a second time.

The growing knot of what Elizabeth allowed herself to recognize as jealousy caused her to sigh and scold herself.

She had no right to be jealous, none at all. Jason needed love in his life. He deserved it and if he could find it with Sam again, who was she to stop him. She just hoped that they could keep their friendship.

She had lost it once; she didn't want to go through that again.

Cameron's childish laughter caused her lips to form a smile as she continued to watch Jason play with her son. It made her feel good to see the two of them bonding.

When she and Jason had picked Cameron up from her Grams house earlier, she was ready to get home. But, once she saw Cameron's face light up after seeing Jason, she didn't want to end the day just yet.

It had started off rocky. Coming home to see all of her babies stuff gone, Lucky walking out, Jax telling her he wanted a memorial for their baby. But, once Jason came and took her for a ride on his motorcycle, all of the anger and hate and sadness had diminished some. Once they dropped off his bike and switched it for the SUV so that they could pick up Cameron, Elizabeth began to feel all of the emotions come tumbling back.

It only took one smile from her son to make it all go away again. Even if that smile was directed at Jason before Cameron saw her and ran his chubby little legs into her arms, hugging her tight.

"You ok?"

Startled out of her musing, Elizabeth looked up from her place on the grass and smiled at Jason. "Yeah."

He gave her a look like he didn't believe her but stayed quiet. He sat down next to her, his shoulder brushing hers as they both looked on as Cameron played in the sandbox. "He's a great kid."

As if he knew the adults were watching him, Cameron took a handful of sand and placed it on top of his head, laughing as it slid down his cheeks and hair. "Yeah, he's the best."

Sighing, Elizabeth readied herself to stand. "We should go," she said. "It's getting late."

As she began to stand, she felt a tight spasm in her leg, causing her to fall back to her knees and cry out in pain.

"Whoa," Jason breathed as he made a grab for her. His arm was around her waist as he gently lowered her to the ground. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice laced with concern for her.

"It's…" she gasped, needing to take a couple of breaths before she could begin again. "My leg. The doctor said it might cramp up on me if I used it too much."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he scolded as he rubbed her back.

Smiling sheepishly, Elizabeth looked into his eyes and felt her heart melt a little. "I forgot?"

Removing his arm from around her, Jason stood, pointing a finger at her, "Stay right there."

Elizabeth watched as he jogged towards Cameron. She couldn't hear what he said to her son, but was surprised when Cameron didn't put up any fuss when Jason scooped him up and walked him towards the car. As the two passed her, Cameron looked over Jason's shoulder and waved at her with a chubby fist, "Mommy hurt?"

"Mommy's fine," She reassured him with a smile.

"No boo-boo?"

"No."

Elizabeth watched as Jason placed her son in the car, taking a moment to admire the view as he bent over to buckle Cameron in the car seat.

She was just a woman after all.

Blushing slightly when Jason turned around and caught her watching him, Elizabeth looked away before she could see the grin she knew spread across his face. When he bent down next to her, the grin was gone and the concern returned. "Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

"No!" she said a little too quickly. "No, please. I just got out of there I do not want to go back just yet."

"Ok," he said softly as he bent down, placing one arm under her leg and the other behind her back.

"What are you doing?"

"Lifting you up."

"Why?"

His chest rumbled against her side as he chuckled softly, "Because I don't want you to walk just yet."

"Jason, I'm fine."

"I'm still going to carry you."

And he did just that.

Being lifted into his arms, Elizabeth couldn't help but be very aware of how strong those arms were. She also couldn't help but be aware of how solid his chest felt against her side, how her arm seemed to fit just right around his neck, how good he smelt, or how slow he seemed to be walking back to the car.

She was both uncomfortable and excited at being held by him. Wishing he would get to the car as fast as possible and wanting the moment to last forever.

She chanced a look at his face and caught him looking at her. There was an intensity in his eyes that she hadn't seen for such a long time that it almost scared her.

Almost.

"Elizabeth..."

"Jason…"

They both spoke at the same time. She laughed to ease the moment, uncomfortable again.

As if he could sense it, Jason picked up his strides and made his way around the car to the front passenger seat. After opening the car door, Jason placed her inside as if she were the most delicate thing he had ever held. When the door closed, she watched him rush around the front of the car and commanded herself to catch her breath and stop acting like a little girl.

The man only carried her because her leg was acting up. There was nothing to get nervous about.

But when Jason slid into his seat and looked at her, she could tell that something had changed between them.

For the better or not, she wasn't sure.

* * *

Later that night, after putting Cameron to bed, Elizabeth began to unmake her couch into her and Lucky's bed. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, she thought, but it was definitely a step up from the hospital bed she spent the last two weeks sleeping in.

She almost looked forward to climbing onto the lumpy sofa bed, even if her fiancé still hadn't shown up.

As if on cue, Lucky walked through the front door. His shirt was wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and there was a look of sorry on his face.

That's right; she fumed inside, giving him the death glare. He better be sorry.

"Hey," he said hesitantly stepping into the apartment and closing the door. She turned her back to him. "How are you feeling?"

Not turning around, Elizabeth answered him as she yanked on the sheet harder than necessary. "Fine."

"Elizabeth, I'm sor—"

"Save it."

"Please, hear me out." He sounded so sad, like he wished he could take back what he did to her earlier that day, leaving her in her time of need. "I was such a jerk this afternoon."

"Yes, you were."

"I shouldn't have left; I shouldn't have said what I did."

"But you did," she whirled on him. "You left me even when I asked you to stay. You made me feel like what I was going through wasn't important to you. Like you didn't care."

"It is important to me. I do care." He moved closer to her, reaching out and looking disappointed when she backed away. She really couldn't care in that moment.

"Everything has been so messed up between us for a while, I was scared."

"Of what?" she asked in disbelief.

He raised his arms, dropped them to his sides. Lowering his head, he looked at her through his eyelashes. "Of losing you." he stepped closer again. "Everything has been happening so fast. First you were spending time with Jax because you were pregnant with his baby, then you started to see Jason more. I was jealous and scared and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have."

"You have nothing to be jealous of, Lucky," she whispered as she stepped closer to him. "I love you."

"I just felt like I wasn't enough for you."

Tilting her head to the side, Elizabeth stepped closer and cupped his face, "You are more than enough for me." She kissed him lightly then stepped back, "I need you right now, please don't doubt that."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good," she swallowed, hoping he meant what he said, hoping her next words wouldn't prove him wrong already. "Jax stopped by earlier." She felt him stiffen slightly then relax again. "He wants a memorial service for our daughter."

She waited a moment to catch his reaction, but he only continued to look at her, rubbing his hand down the back of her hair. She continued, "I want it, too."

"Ok," he nodded. "We'll have the memorial for her and I will be with you through it all."

Tears glistened her eyes, clouding her throat. This was the man she loved, the one she needed earlier today. "Thank you," she whispered as she stepped into his arms.

Lucky held her for a moment, and then stepped back. "I have to take a shower. You'll be ok?"

"I'll be fine. Once my head hits that pillow, I'll be out."

She watched as he smiled then made his way to the bathroom, and like she declared, once she settled on her lumpy mattress, she was asleep.

* * *

**One week later…**

Jason sat at the back of the church, feeling like an intruder yet knowing he wouldn't be anywhere else that day. He watched as loved one after loved one walked over to Elizabeth and Jax and offered their condolences with a titled head, turned down mouth, and a pat on the shoulder.

Some even uttered how sorry they were for the two of them.

There was one guest who bawled louder then everyone else, making it hard to hear the service at times. He remembered her name was Courtney and though he knew she was going to have some type of presence in the baby's life at first, he wished she hadn't shown up.

Her presence seemed to bother Elizabeth and Jason couldn't understand why the blonde didn't notice that.

When another person pulled Elizabeth into a hug, Jason could see the discomfort on her face and knew that she wanted everyone to leave her alone. He was so tempted to walk to the front of the church and take Elizabeth away. Maybe on a bike ride on the cliff roads, or to Vista Pointe.

Anywhere but here.

But he couldn't do that, no matter how intense the urge was.

The room began to clear out and Jason saw Jax move off to the side to speak to Emily as Lucky and another man spoke. Someone Jason wasn't quite sure he knew but was pretty sure his name was Nicholas.

Elizabeth stood at the front of the church, looking out of a stained glass window. He debated with himself, wondering if he should go up to her or just leave her alone like he figured she wanted.

In the end, he moved towards her, not being able to leave without her knowing he was there. She had asked for him to come and made it clear that she wanted him there.

She had her back turned to him and instead of calling her name; he placed a gentle hand on her back. She didn't start, but turned and looked up at him and when their eyes connected, Jason could tell she knew it was him from the moment he touched her.

He didn't know what to say, asking if she was ok seemed ignorant, telling her he was sorry seemed redundant. It turned out he didn't need to say anything.

"Thank you," she said, walking into his arms and holding him close. Her face was buried against his chest and he could feel her shudder against him.

"I didn't do anything."

She squeezed him tighter before backing away, giving him a watery smile. "Being here is enough."

His hand reached out to cup her face as his mouth opened to speak, but he was cut off before he could do either.

"Elizabeth," he heard the tight voice of Lucky Spencer behind him. "We better go."

Jason never took his eyes off of Elizabeth as he dropped his hand back to his side. She nodded once, gave one more tentative smile as a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Thank you," she said once more, touching his hand as she walked passed him and out of the church with Lucky.

When Jason turned around, he saw her retreating back before she turned her head over her shoulder and glanced at him once more before leaving.

And then he was alone.

Something he was getting used to.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"What are you doing here?"

Placing a hand on her chest, Sam tilted her head to the side as a look of mock hurt crossed her face. "Now, Sonny, is that anyway to welcome me?"

Sonny continued to look through the paperwork on his desk, never once looking up at her. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"I didn't realize we were on bad terms." She said as she stepped into his living room, taking a seat on his big leather couch.

"We aren't," he murmured as he frowned over a piece of paper she knew had nothing important on it. She rolled her eyes, biting down hard to stop herself from snapping at him. "I know you're here to get information on Jason and, like I told you the last seven times, I'm not going to give you any."

"Sonny, things are different now," she beamed as she stood and made her way over to him and stopped in front of his desk. "You need to congratulate me. I'm pregnant!"

Sighing, Sonny set his papers down, looked up at Sam and pierced her with his gaze. She felt her smile slip a little at his narrowed eyes but quickly recovered. "I heard," he nodded. "What I want to know is who the father is."

Sam felt her heartbeat quicken. She was really starting to hate Sonny and his high and mighty attitude. Lifting her eyebrows, Sam tilted her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "You know who the father is."

"No," he said slowly, "I don't."

"You know what Sonny, I don't need this. Just tell me where Jason is."

Making a great deal of shoving his chair back slowly, Sonny stood, leaning his hands against his desk. "Give Jason some space. When he's ready to talk to you, he'll come to you."

Feeling her temper rise, Sam snapped. "Jason needs to be with _me_," she emphasized. "I'm going to have his baby which means we'll be a family. You know if Jason could remember he would want to be with me every step of the way.

"Jason would move heaven and earth for his child, hell, _any_ child. Look at what he did for our daughter, Sonny."

"Don't," he whispered, "bring our daughter into this."

"You remember what it was like for Jason. He loved her even though he wasn't the real father. He's just confused right now and he needs _both_ of us."

Sam knew she was grasping at straws but she needed Sonny on her side. For some reason, Jason reconnected with Sonny and she was pretty sure he trusted the older man. If she could just get Sonny to agree with her, then he could talk some sense into Jason. All she needed was some time to show him how much he loved her.

And this baby was going to be the perfect start.

* * *

Yanking off his suit jacket, followed by the tie, Jason stepped out of his SUV and made his way up the walkway to Sonny's house. He had been on his way home from the memorial service when Sonny had called. He made it sound urgent so Jason had turned his car around.

Unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt, Jason stepped inside after Milo opened the door for him.

Nodding once, Jason walked to the closed doors of Sonny's living room and paused. He could hear raised voices and tried to decipher who was with Sonny but couldn't recognize the voice.

It sounded familiar, a woman's voice, but he couldn't think of whom it might be. He knew it wasn't Carly since Sonny had finally broken down and brought the woman to Rose Lawn.

Shrugging, Jason placed his hands on the doorknob and entered, stopping once he saw who Sonny was with.

His eyes narrowed as Sonny turned and looked at him with regret. Feeling a sense of betrayal, Jason shook his head and turned around.

"Jason," both occupants of the living room called out to him.

Stopping but not turning around, Jason clenched his fists at his sides and waited.

"I'm so glad you're here." He heard Sam say in a breathy voice.

"Jason, man, I didn't…She wasn't here when I called you."

Unclenching his fists, Jason turned around, looking Sonny in the eyes. He didn't know why, but Jason believed him. He was beginning to trust Sonny a lot more, being able to talk to him at times when he wasn't able to say what he wanted to say to Elizabeth. Sonny was one of his only friends right now and he would hate it if he couldn't trust the man because of Sam.

"Well, it's a good thing I am here. We need to talk."

"Is the baby ok?" he asked almost automatically.

Sam smiled what Jason figured was no doubt her best smile. He really hated it when people tried to play him. "The baby's fine. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ok," he said, staying rooted in his spot.

"In private."

Sighing, Jason scrubbed a hand down his face. "I don't have time for this."

Sam stepped forward, tears filling her eyes. "You don't have time for our baby? Our _family_?"

"Jason," Sonny cut in before he could say anything. "I'll catch up with you later."

A slight tilt of his head showed his appreciation before Jason turned around and walked out of Sonny's living room.

He couldn't understand why he wouldn't give Sam a chance. She was having his baby, she claimed to love him. Maybe it was because she pushed him too much or because he couldn't stop thinking about Elizabeth. Whatever it was, Jason knew he was being hard on her. He couldn't help it. When he was around her he always had the urge to be somewhere else, anywhere else than with her.

He had tried to give her a chance in the beginning but she was too clingy, always around trying to get him to remember. He had needed to get away from her, to find his own space and find out who he really was. Not what other people claimed he was.

He knew he needed to stop trying to avoid her. She was having his baby and they were going to be connected in some way for the rest of their lives. He just needed to make her understand that there wasn't a chance for the two of them to get together romantically.

He wasn't who she wanted him to be; the man who had loved her and lived with her for the past year.

And she wasn't who he wanted.

Elizabeth.

* * *

Hearing a pounding at the door, Jason flew out of bed and grabbed for his gun on the nightstand. Frowning when his hand touched nothing, Jason took a step back, scratching his chest. He stayed where he was, staring blankly at the nightstand as the pounding continued at the door.

He didn't have a gun.

Why would he reach for one?

A chill ran down his spine as he squinted at the nightstand, fully awake now. He didn't like that his first instinct was to reach for a gun he didn't have. That wasn't who he was anymore.

Sighing, Jason grabbed a shirt from his dresser and pulled it over his head as he walked the few steps to the door of his apartment above Jakes. His hand paused on the doorknob as he debated with himself on whether or not to open it. Finally, he asked, "Who is it?"

"Sonny."

Letting out a rush of air, Jason unlocked the door and took a step back, letting Sonny enter.

"Sorry to come by so early," Sonny apologized.

As Jason took in his tailored suit and slicked back hair, he couldn't help but wonder why the man dressed up everyday. He had to be uncomfortable; at least Jason was the day before when he wore his only suit to the memorial.

"It's not a problem."

"Good," Sonny nodded, scratching his chin with the side of his thumb. "I've got some information on Elizabeth's accident."

"What did you find out?"

Jason could feel an anxious need build up slowly and then consume his chest. It had been three weeks since Elizabeth accident and for three weeks he could do nothing but think about how badly she was hurt, how she could have died, how her child died.

For three weeks he couldn't shake the feeling that her accident wasn't an accident at all. It just didn't feel right.

"You were right," Sonny said as he dipped his head. "My man looked into the car, searched deeper than the cops and found that someone tampered with the brakes. Someone must have tried to cover their tracks before the cops searched the car, but they didn't a good enough job."

"So someone tried to kill Elizabeth?"

"No, someone tired to kill Lucky."

"She was driving his car," Jason nodded, looking away as he thought. He leaned his back against the door, looking at the floor. "Manny," he whispered, anger building inside of him.

"That's what I was thinking," Sonny sighed. "Lucky shot his brother and Tito is now facing a trial. Manny probably threatened Lucky and when that didn't work…" he trailed off and Jason knew exactly what he meant.

"But Elizabeth got hurt instead."

By the way Sonny straightened Jason knew the other man could hear the anger in his voice. "I'll put a man on him."

"No," he shook his head.

The image of Elizabeth lying on her bed, her face full of scratches, tears falling down her cheeks as she mourned for her baby flashed in his mind. He saw the image of her wincing face as she fell to the ground because her leg gave out on her. He saw her pain, felt her pain, and knew that he couldn't let someone else take care of this.

"No," he whispered, piercing Sonny with a gaze that dared him to question what he was about to say. "I'll do it."


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback. It does a writer good. :)

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* * *

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**Chapter Twenty**

"How was work today?"

"Fine."

Elizabeth sighed and tried hard not to roll her eyes but failed. For the past week, everyday was the same. Lucky would leave every morning for work, kissing her lightly before walking out the door for most of the day. He would come home, seem distant and when she would ask how his day went, the answer was always the same: 'fine.'

It hadn't bothered her at first. She had been too busy taking care of Cameron, making the arrangements with Jax for the memorial and spending time with Jason, still revisiting their past.

Lucky _was_ there for her when she needed him, though. He held her when she cried at night when she allowed herself to think about the upcoming memorial. He was even there for her yesterday at the memorial, holding her hand and letting her lean her head on his shoulder when she felt too tired to hold it up.

But now… now that the memorial was over, she wished things could go back to the way they were. She would still mourn for her child, thinking about her, but she had to move on.

They used to talk about everything. Now they hardly ever spoke unless she initiated it. There was one bright side, however, they hadn't fought.

Placing the shirt she had been folding in the laundry basket, Elizabeth stood and walked into the kitchen were Lucky was getting a beer. He just closed the refrigerator when she hugged him from behind. "Was it a long day?"

"No," he shook his head as he twisted off the cap, taking a long pull.

Trying again, Elizabeth moved around him, kissing him lightly, "Did you have to arrest anyone?"

Placing his beer down, Lucky wrapped his arms around her, kissing her again. "Just some drug dealer." He began to trail kisses down her cheek and neck, nipping lightly at her shoulder. "I don't want to talk about work right now."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Elizabeth tried to back away but couldn't get out of his arms. "Lucky, we can't. Cameron's going to wake up from his nap any minute."

He smiled, backing her against the counter, "let him play in his room once he get's up. We haven't been together since before your accident. I miss you."

She let him kiss her, frowning when the usual flutter didn't erupt in her stomach. Patting his shoulder, Elizabeth moved out of his embrace and into the living room. "Right now isn't a good time," she said almost distantly.

"Damn it, Elizabeth, when is this going to stop?"

Turning around at his angry voice, Elizabeth looked at Lucky with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"This," he gestured between them. "You. Keeping your distance from me."

Placing a hand against her chest, Elizabeth squinted, "You think I'm the one keeping my distance. I can't even talk to you without you changing the subject or acting like you're too busy to hold a conversation."

She saw his face tighten before he blew out a breath, placing his hands on his hips. "You know what? I don't need this. I've had a long and stressful day at work and I thought I could relieve some of that stress with my fiancé."

"You want to make love to me to relieve your stress?" she scoffed. "Wow, you are _such_ a romantic. We haven't made love for weeks and you want to start up again with a little quickie?"

"Like I said, I don't need this." When she continued to stare at him with disgust in her eyes, he threw his hands up. "I'm taking a shower."

"You do that," she snapped, plopping back down on the sofa to resume her folding from earlier. The bathroom door slamming made her roll her eyes. "Jerk."

She couldn't understand what happened to them. It was like she was loosing touch with him, maybe even falling out of love.

No, she scolded herself. She couldn't think like that. She loved Lucky; they were planning on spending the rest of their lives together. So what if they were hitting a rocky patch right then; they'd get through it, they always did before.

She picked up another shirt, frowning over her thoughts, when a memory hit her like a freight train, causing her to drop the shirt.

She was kissing him. The sensations running through her caused a flush to raise high in her cheeks. The kiss was slow, sensual, breathtaking.

It was a kiss she couldn't believe she had forgotten.

As the kiss kept flashing in her mind, she breathed a sigh of relief. Lucky made her feel good before, they could get to that place again.

Just when that thought ran through her mind, her memory moved forward, letting her see the face of the man she had kissed.

It wasn't Lucky.

It was Jason.

Gasping, Elizabeth closed her eyes, squeezing them so tight it hurt. When the hell did she kiss Jason?

She urged herself to remember as her stomach tied itself in knots. The memory was still unclear, but she could pick up pieces of what had happened.

She remembered going to Jakes to find Jason and the next thing she could remember was kissing him. Her fingertips touched her lips as a sigh escaped between them. How she ended up in his arms she couldn't remember.

But it had been one hell of a kiss.

A slow smile tilted the corners of her mouth as she recalled that kiss over and over. He had held her so gently, like she was a precious gift. His lips had been soft, yet firm as they explored her mouth. As if he were standing right there, kissing her again, she could remember his hands running softly through her hair.

Well… damn.

Confused, scared, excited, Elizabeth jumped up from the couch, walking to her door. She made it one step outside when she realized she wasn't wearing any shoes. Shaking her head, she turned around and went back inside her apartment, questioning herself.

What the hell was she doing? Was she just going to find Jason, grab him and kiss him the second she saw him?

"Slow down," she whispered, trying to catch her breath. She heard Lucky stop the water in his shower and began to panic again. Grabbing her shoes, Elizabeth made her way to the door again when she remembered she was a mother.

"Crap," she breathed, making her way to Cameron's room as she tugged her sneakers on. She opened his door quietly, thinking to pick him up while he was still sleeping but her son had other plans.

He was sitting up in bed playing with his toy motorcycle as he made a slurping sound. He looked up, saw her and squealed, "Mommy!"

"Shhh," she placed her finger against her lips, walking into his room. "Do you want to go bye-bye?"

He nodded clapping his hands before holding them out to her. She picked him up and started to walk out of the room when he wiggled against her, shouting, "Cycle! Cycle!"

"Ok, ok," she whispered, hurrying to get the bike before Lucky came out of the bathroom. She smiled as she picked up the toy, remembering when Jason gave it to Cameron the day before the memorial.

Elizabeth hadn't been herself that day, knowing she had to be there for Cameron but not being able to make herself move. Jason had come over, like he'd known she needed help. He didn't ask her any questions, just said he was going to take Cameron out for the day to give her some rest, knowing she needed time to just sit down and cry. When they had come back that day, she was all cried out, thankful for the break.

Cameron had come running in, the motorcycle in his hand high above his head, wanting to show it off. When she had raised an eyebrow at Jason, he turned sheepish, shrugging his shoulders and stating that "Cameron wanted it."

He was such an amazing man and Elizabeth finally allowed herself to admit that she was beginning to feel more for him, again. She tried not to; she always talked herself out of those feelings when they began to surface. But now, after remembering that kiss, she couldn't hide it any longer.

There was something going on between the two of them and she needed to find out what it was.

She just made it to the door when she heard Lucky call out to her.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," was all she said as she shut the door.

First stop Grams, next stop Jakes.

* * *

"I didn't get any information today but I'll keep you informed." Digging in his pocket for his room key, Jason listened as Sonny gave him more instructions on how to follow Manny. 

He placed the key in the door, unlocked it and pushed the door open. "I'll do that." Looking up, Jason stopped, staring at the woman standing in his room. "I'll have to call you back later." Not listening to hear what else Sonny had to say, Jason ended the call.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Sam," he sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face.

"I followed Sonny this morning, ok? I had to see you," she pouted, stepping closer to him.

Feeling a headache form behind his eyes, Jason pushed the door closed with his foot, not hearing the click of it closing and not caring. "What's wrong?" he asked, wishing he didn't have to.

"Everything," he heard her sniff, causing his gaze to snap to hers. Tears were welling in her eyes, making her look miserable. "This just isn't right, Jason. My whole world turned upside down when you lost your memory. I've lost you and it's not fair to me."

"I'm sorr—"

She cut him off, "I know you can't remember us, but you won't even give us a chance. Have you ever stopped to think about what _I'm _going through?" she placed a hand against her chest. "You were my world and now you won't even talk to me."

"I'm not trying to hurt you."

"But you are!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks now. He felt like an ass to be hurting her this way. She really didn't do anything wrong except for worry about him too much, crowding him. "Every time you act like I'm bothering you my heart breaks more and more."

Nodding, Jason looked away, hating to see her cry but not knowing what he could do to help her. He couldn't help the way he felt. Telling her he would give them a chance would help her but it wouldn't be right because it would be a lie.

"This," she whispered as she gestured between them. "This kills me. Every time I used to cry, you would hold me and it would always make me feel so much better. Now here I am," she lifted her arms and dropped them back down with a slap. "I'm crying and I'm hurt and it's like you don't care."

He _did_ care that he was hurting her.

She buried her face in her hands, sniffing, causing him to step forward and place his hand on her shoulder. He stiffened when she flung her arms around his stomach, clingy to him.

"I just miss being held by you," she whispered brokenly

Feeling like the biggest jerk for making her cry, Jason slowly put his arms around her, patting her back.

He felt her lift her head from his chest and he looked down at her. Sam's eyes were no longer filled with tears but another emotion.

"There's only one way to decide that you can never be with me," she whispered huskily.

He waited for her to continue, his breathing quickening, already regretting letting her get too close.

"Kiss me. Kiss me and tell me you don't feel anything." When he opened his mouth to protest, she placed a finger against his lips, leaning forward. "You'll finally be able to see how you really feel once you kiss me." Still, he waited.

"It's just a kiss," she murmured right before she leaned all the way in and placed her lips against his.

He heard her moan as she hugged him tighter. Her lips moved over his and Jason kissed her back.

As she cupped his cheeks in her hands, Jason finally realized what he felt for her.

Nothing.

* * *

Elizabeth raced up the back stairs of Jakes. She still didn't know what she was going to say to Jason when she saw him but she knew that she _had_ to see him. 

She had some things to figure out and it all began with Jason.

Stopping before his door, Elizabeth frowned when she noticed that it was slightly ajar. Shrugging her shoulders, Elizabeth lightly tapped on the door as she stuck her head in.

"Hello…oh." She stopped, feeling her throat tighten. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"No, it's not…" Jason said as he untangled himself from Sam's arms. The other woman glared at her, sucking her teeth and stepping closer to Jason when he moved away from her. "Elizabeth, this isn't what—"

"It's..." she cut him off. "I didn't…" not able to finish, Elizabeth fled from the room, doing her best to keep her tears at bay.

She could hear Sam tell Jason to not go after her as she fled down the stairs and Elizabeth hoped he would listen to Sam. She couldn't face him right at that moment and keep her dignity.

Her feet hit the landing and she was already making her way to the back exit when she felt a hand wrap around her arm. "Elizabeth, wait."

Pulling her arm free, Elizabeth dashed the few tears that slipped past her lashes and onto her cheeks away. Putting on her best smile, she turned and shrugged her shoulders. "It's ok, Jason. I'm sorry I walked in on the two of you."

"You didn't walk in on anything," he said, sounding urgent. "She asked me—"

"You don't have to explain," she interrupted, putting her hand up. "You're a grown man Jason, what you do is your own business." She had to get out of there. She could feel her throat closing as more tears threatened to spill.

"Sam's the mother of your child, you two used to be together. It's only natural…" she shrugged again, hugging her arms tight across her middle.

Jason stepped forward, lifting his hand to touch her but dropping it back down to his side. He sighed, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. "I need to explain to you what just happened, please."

How could she tell him no after everything he did for her? He always listened to her when she needed to talk, it was the least she could do to listen to him.

Even if it broke her heart.

"Ok," she spoke quietly, looking at the ground.

She heard him take in a large breath of hair and then release it slowly. "Sam showed up before I got home. She was crying and I felt bad because _I'm _the one who made her cry. I hugged her and then she asked me to kiss her."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, still looking away.

"I wasn't going to at first, but then she said it would make me see how I really felt about her."

Her chest tightened, waiting to hear how he felt.

"I didn't feel _anything_."

Elizabeth's head snapped up, her eyes opened wide. "You didn't?"

"No," he shrugged. "Whatever I felt for her before I lost my memory, it's gone."

"Unless you remember her."

"I don't think so."

She finally looked at him and when their eyes connected, she couldn't look away. She felt a sizzle in the air, ready to crack at any moment. Her lips were suddenly dry, causing her to lick them. She watched as his eyes followed the movement.

"Why did you come here?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I remember kissing you." She blurted out, not thinking. She felt her cheeks grow hot and she wished, more than anything, that she could turn back time and _not_ say that.

"What?"

Well, she thought, the damage was already done.

Rubbing her forehead, Elizabeth explained, "I don't remember everything, but I remember kissing you the night of my accident." A sudden horrifying thought crossed her mind. "We did kiss, right? I'm not—"

"No," he cleared his throat, blushing a little. "We kissed."

"What happened?"

He cleared his throat again and when he went to speak, Sam came downstairs. She placed her hand on Jason's chest as she sneered at Elizabeth. "We're not done talking, Jason."

"Sam," he practically groaned but Elizabeth stopped him.

"No, Jason it's ok. I," she breathed in deeply. "I have a lot to think about. You two should finish." She smiled, letting him know that everything was ok, that she wasn't hurt by what she saw earlier. "We'll talk later."

"Yeah," he smiled back. "Later."

Not even glancing at Sam, Elizabeth walked out of Jakes with a smile across her lips and a knot in her stomach. There was _a lot_ to think about.

Just when she was about to start her car, she heard the back door of Jakes slam, causing her to look up. Sam stormed out of the building, a furious look upon her face. For some reason, it made Elizabeth smile.

She didn't know why, but there was something in the back of her mind that told her she hated Samantha McCall.

And it had nothing to do with the other woman having Jason's child. She was sure of that. She envied the woman, but she didn't hate her for that.

There was something else that made her not like Sam. One way or another, Elizabeth was going to find out what it was.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

He had a feeling he had done this many times before.

Standing outside of Alcazar's home, dressed completely in black, Jason peered through the living room window as he hid in the shadows.

Manny was there, smiling, laughing about some cruel joke he just said while Alcazar poured two drinks. When Alcazar turned, Jason inched back, staying out of sight.

"I went to see Lucky again," he heard Manny boast, causing Jason to frown. "He finally agreed to change his statement."

"I'm sure that went over well," Alcazar commented as he took a sip of his drink.

"We came to an understanding. I threatened to expose his lies to his precious girlfriend and he started to weaken. When I threatened the beauty, he gave in."

Jason heard Manny suck his teeth, then watched as his smile grew. "It's just too bad he didn't listen the last time. It could have saved the girl a lot of pain."

Jason felt his gut clench as bile rose to the back of his throat. His fingers itched to reach for the gun that was secured at his back and the sickening feeling only grew. He hadn't wanted to take a gun at first but Sonny had insisted. He wouldn't let Jason leave until he picked up the gun. When the cool metal touched his skin, when the weight of the gun fell upon his hand, a strange feeling went through him.

It was like the gun was made for his hand.

The urge to grab it and end Manny's life only grew, scaring him. He allowed himself to acknowledge that it was because the other man was threatening Elizabeth, but he still didn't like the feeling.

"Once Tito is out," Manny spoke, interrupting Jason's thoughts. "I'll help you eliminate Sonny Corinthos."

Jason watched as Manny walked out of Alcazars living room.

It was time to end this.

Reaching for his phone, Jason made his way around the back of Alcazar's house. Seeing a guard, he ducked down behind a bush until the man passed by. Placing his hand against the house, Jason eased his way around the final corner, seeing Manny walk towards his car.

Not needing to glance down at his phone, Jason pressed the number two speed dial. Sonny answered after the first ring.

"I've got the information we needed," Jason whispered; crouching low as Manny got into his car. "I'm following him."

"_Let me know where he ends up. I'll send someone."_

Hanging up, Jason gave Manny a couple of minutes to get in his car and pull away before he hopped on his bike, following him.

* * *

There was something about a nice brownie that always made Elizabeth happy.

Taking the time to savor one, or two, sometimes three, allowed her to gather her thoughts, taking bite after bite when they became too disturbing to her.

Working on her second brownie at the counter of Kelly's, Elizabeth began to mull over her situation. She was engaged to one man, a man she had loved since she was a teenager, a man she was loosing touch with, and she was falling for another man.

A man who made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long time.

Dropping her chin on her fist, Elizabeth took another bite of her brownie. She couldn't go on living the way she was anymore. If she and Lucky were having such a hard time now, what was to say they wouldn't have a miserable marriage together?

She truly did not want to believe that, but she couldn't let the thought go, cast it off as something that would never happen. Things were changing and she couldn't ignore them anymore.

It wouldn't be fair to Lucky, her, Cameron, or even Jason if she continued to go on with life with Lucky like everything was ok.

Sighing, Elizabeth finished her brownie, debating if she wanted to get another one when a familiar voice goaded her from behind. "We need to talk."

Letting out a long breath through her nose, Elizabeth turned on her stool, shaking her head, "I'm not in the mood right now."

Before she could turn around, Sam crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her eyebrows. "I don't care because you're going to listen to what I have to say."

Turning back around, Elizabeth ignored her diva attitude. "Go away, Sam."

"What happened yesterday with you showing up at Jason's place can't happen again. Stay away from him," the other woman snapped.

Spinning around, Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, "Yeah, right."

"Jason is my—"

"Jason left you," Elizabeth cut in, annoyed. "Maybe if you didn't try so damn hard, he'd give you a chance, but you won't leave him alone. You have to accept that Jason is going through something right now that may never change. He is trying so hard to get his life back together; he doesn't need _you_ hounding him every five seconds."

"What," Sam laughed bitterly, "You think he needs you."

"Jason needs a friend and he trusts me. I won't turn my back on him because you're having a hissy fit."

"Get over yourself Elizabeth, Jason doesn't need you, he needs _me._ I'm the one having his baby, not you. Why don't you stop trying to get back with Jason and go be with Lucky, even though you don't deserve him, either."

Narrowing her eyes, Elizabeth opened her mouth, a very good retort on the tip of her tongue, when another memory hit her, causing her to lose focus on the situation before her.

She was at her apartment with Lucky, there was blood running down his nose as he rubbed at the back of his head.

Gasping as the entire conversation came back to her, Elizabeth stood up, almost knocking her chair over. It was like she had never forgotten what happened. She remembered coming home, finding Lucky passed out on the floor and then waking him up where he told her about sleeping with Sam.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she recalled the conversation. He had been apologetic but he also tried to make it seem like her fault, like he really wasn't to blame for sleeping with Sam.

Anger, raw anger built up within her, consuming her. Her hand itched to slap the smug look off of Sam's face, but she restrained herself.

Lucky had slept with Sam and she had forgotten about it.

All along, ever since she woke up from her accident, Lucky had been acting like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't cheated on her

That fight was the reason she walked out on him that night, taking his car and getting into the accident which caused her to lose her baby.

And he said nothing.

Grabbing her purse, Elizabeth laid money on the counter, not even thinking about it before pushing her way past an unmoving Sam. Her shoulder bumped into Sam's as she moved past her. Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear, giving Sam a disgusted look. "Stay the hell away from me."

Sam raised her eyebrows, a smug smile tilting her lips, "As long as you stay away from Jason."

"Like hell I will," she responded, walking out of Kelly's and letting the door slam behind her.

* * *

The air was muggy, causing a slight fog in to cloud his vision. His breathing was shallow, faint as he glanced around.

He knew he should feel nervous but he didn't. He felt anxious…ready.

He had pulled the gun from his waistband minutes before and the sick feeling he expected to arise never came. It was like the gun was an extension of his arm, not a sworn off device like it had been before.

His finger slid easily into place as he held it before his face, studying it. He didn't want to have to use it but there was something within him that said he had no other choice.

Moving along the docks, Jason stayed to the shadows, hiding behind crates and extended walls as he followed Manny. His movements were steady, calm, like his body knew exactly where to go.

He made no sound, not even breathing loud enough for anyone to hear him.

Slowly moving his head forward, Jason peered around the pile of crates he was crouching behind. His gun was posed, ready to fire if needed. All he had to do was wait there until Sonny's men showed up and then he could leave.

As much as he hated Manny and wanted him to pay for what he did to Elizabeth, Jason wasn't sure he could do it himself. He didn't think he could kill a man.

Jason was so intent on watching Manny that when he heard the steps behind him, it was too late. He felt the cool metal of a gun dig into the back of his neck, the pressure almost bruising.

"Get up," he heard a man sneer. Standing slowly, Jason lifted his hands palms up, his gun still cradled in one hand. "Put it down."

Jason didn't think, he reacted instead. Sweeping his arm back, he smashed his elbow against the other mans cheek before his fist came up, punching the man in the nose.

Jason swung around, striking out with his other fist, slamming it into the mans stomach. When he fell forward, Jason grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face into the crates, knocking him unconscious.

His breathing was labored, his chest heaving as he stared at the man, nostrils flaring. He stood there for a moment, not thinking, just staring at him. When he really took a look at what he did, it shocked him.

He had reacted with such precise moves that it worried him. He didn't think, didn't second guess himself. He had struck out at the man and saved his own life.

Jason wiped his mouth, still staring down at the unconscious man with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Bravo," he heard Manny clapping behind him. An instinct gnawing at him made him turn around quickly, not wanting to keep his back to him. Squeezing his hand around the gun, Jason clenched his jaw and glared. "You move quickly."

Jason remained cold, silent. His jaw hurt from the strain he was causing it, but he didn't ease up. It calmed him, kept him steady.

"I thought you were out of the business," Manny questioned, tilting his head to the side as he cracked his knuckles. "Doesn't matter now. I've got a group of men that'll be here at any moment and will kill you the second they see you."

Jason didn't flinch. Normally, a situation like this should have scared him, but he felt calm, not feeling the danger.

Manny laughed. "I was told about your silent treatment and I have to say it amuses me. Let's see if I can get a rile out of you." He tapped his finger against his chin and Jason could feel his hand lifting, gun in hand. "If I recall correctly, you have a little thing for Spencer's girl."

Jason felt his jaw twitch.

"I see I'm getting somewhere," he laughed. "When you die, I'll make certain I give her your regards… personally."

"Stay the hell away from Elizabeth."

The smile across Manny's lips widened. He took a step forward, then another. "I love that name…_Elizabeth._ Rolls off the tongue real nice, don't you think?"

The next thing Jason new, his arm was lifted, his finger cocking the gun. His eyes were slits as he glared at Manny.

They both turned their heads when they heard several sets of footsteps.

"Looks like it's over for you, Morgan," Manny taunted. "It's a shame it had to end this way for you, but, like I said, I'll make sure to comfort _Elizabeth_ real well."

A gun shot went off.

Jason didn't know where it came from at first. Then he saw Manny's body hit the ground, eyes wide, his hands grasping his chest.

It was then that Jason realized he was the one to pull the trigger.

The gun slipped from his fingers, the thud of it hitting the ground didn't register. He stared at Manny's lifeless body, confused.

He did it. He killed him.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Jason turned his head slightly and saw Max standing beside him.

"You ok?"

Nodding then shaking his head, Jason cleared his throat but wasn't able to relieve the burning he felt inside. "I don't know. I… I have to get out of here."

"Ok," Max nodded, looking concerned. "Do you want anyone to go with you?"

"No." Turning away, Jason traveled up the steps he had just came down only minutes before. He stopped, scrubbing his hands down his face with harsh movements. "Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Manny said there were other's coming—"

Max shook his head, "We took care of them."

Jason nodded once, turning around and walked away.

In a matter of minutes, his life turned upside down.

He had killed a man.

* * *

It had taken her some time to get home. When she left Kelly's earlier, her first thought was to get home and hit him, yell at him, end things with him.

But she wanted to think, to process everything that was running through her head so she wouldn't act out irrationally.

Her first stop was her Grams where she checked on Cameron, who was spending the night. After her conversation with Jason the day before, and remembering what had occurred between the two, Elizabeth brought her son to her Grams earlier in the day, asking if she could take care of him for a couple of days. She needed some time to think and her Grams had understood.

Now, as she entered her apartment, Elizabeth wished she had stayed with Cameron.

Lucky was there, sitting on the couch with a beer in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other. He looked up when she entered, smiling at her before turning his attention back to the TV. "Hey."

Licking her lips, Elizabeth squinted at him, loathing the sight of him. How dare he? she asked herself.

How dare he act like nothing was wrong?

"Did you have a good day?" she asked, proud of herself when her voice sounded even and calm.

"Yeah, you?"

"Oh, I had a _great_ day," she said as she closed the door gently, stepping into the room. "I had an interesting run in with Sam, though." Her eyebrows lifted as she noticed the sudden stiffening in his shoulders.

"I don't know what it is," she commented lightly, "but she just gets under my skin. It's like my subconscious is telling me I don't like her but I can't figure out why."

"You don't really know her," Lucky cleared his throat. "Maybe she just rubs you the wrong way."

"Maybe."

Walking to stand in front of the TV, Elizabeth turned it off, facing Lucky with her hands on her hips. "Or maybe she slept with my fiancé."

Lucky stood up so fast the bowl of chips fell out of his hand, spilling across the floor. "Did she tell you that?"

"She didn't have to," Elizabeth seethed. "I remembered!"

"Elizabeth, calm down."

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down. Stop," she commanded, holding her hand up when he stood and started towards her. "Do _not_ come near me."

"Please, just listen to me," he begged desperately.

"What is there to listen to? Are you going to apologize?" She didn't let him respond. "Well, save it. I don't want your apologizes. I don't want to hear how it was a mistake. I want nothing from you."

"I told you—"

"How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times have you slept with her?"

He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. Elizabeth shook her head as her chin wobbled. She wanted to scream, to take her fists and pound them against his chest but she didn't. Instead, she stood tall and kept her tears at bay.

"So it wasn't just that one time."

His eyes finally connected with hers, full of tears. "You don't understand."

"There's nothing to understand! You've been sleeping with Sam and lying to me." Grabbing her purse, Elizabeth stormed to the door, pulling away from Lucky when he tried to grab her arm.

"Don't _touch_ me."

"You can't leave, Elizabeth. We have to talk about this."

"We've already talked about this the night I got into my accident." She stared at him for a moment when a thought crossed her mind. She tilted her head to the side, pulling the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. "Are you the father of her baby?"

"No."

"How do you know?"

"She told me."

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "You're just going to believe her and not get proof?"

"She told me that she and Jason slept together before he decided to leave her. The doctor told her the conception date which was before we slept together."

Hearing those words come out of Lucky's mouth—that he and Sam slept together—should have hurt her worse than they did, but they didn't. It might have been because she was numb inside, or because she was already hurt, or maybe because she just didn't care anymore. Whatever it was, it helped her get through the next moments.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lucky. Don't forget, Sam _was_ a con artist."

Saying that, Elizabeth reached out and turned the knob, yanking the door open harder than she needed to. She slapped his hand away when he tried to reach out to her again.

"One more thing," she whispered over her shoulder. "We're over."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

The water was cold, like tiny shards of glass slicing at his skin.

He didn't feel it.

He couldn't feel anything but confusion over what he had done and how…justified he felt when he thought of Manny being dead. He had been lost at first, shocked at what he'd done. But when he had left the docks, driving home on his bike, he couldn't help but think of how Manny had threatened Elizabeth and how he had caused her accident and the pain she was going through. When he thought of that, he felt like it was _right_ that he killed the man.

And that scared the hell out of him.

Was he really a killing machine? Did losing his memory not change who he _really _was?

Sonny's enforcer?

It wasn't the first time he killed someone since his memory loss. Killing the two men in the clinic when he first woke up was a shock to him. But after he had thought about it, he was disgusted with himself. Killing Manny was different.

Manny had threatened someone he loved.

Running his hand through his hair, Jason straightened from his position of leaning against the shower wall and turned the water off. Standing there all night wasn't going to change anything. It wasn't going to wipe away the murder of the night or change who he was.

He was a killer.

Stepping out of the shower, Jason wrapped a towel around his waist, not bothering to dry himself off. He thought he heard a soft knock at his door but ignored it until he heard another one.

He pulled on a pair of sweat pants, letting them ride low on his hips. "Who's there?"

"I know its late but—"

Not waiting for her to finish, or thinking about his lack of attire, Jason opened the door so fast that Elizabeth jumped when he appeared before her. "Elizabeth," he breathed, forgetting everything he was going through in that moment.

She gave him a small smile, lifting her hand. "Hi."

"What…" he cleared his throat, "What are you doing here?"

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as her fingers swept her bangs out of her face, "I needed to see you."

Nodding, Jason moved away from the entrance of his door, letting her pass. When she turned around after he closed the door, he was able to get a better look at her.

He didn't like what he saw.

Her eyes were red rimmed, tears still causing them to glisten. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… everything," she laughed without humor. He watched her pace, remaining silent because he knew she would speak when she needed to.

"Lucky's having an affair with Sam," she blurted out, snapping her head up quickly to look at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry;" she quickly added "I shouldn't have blurted that out like that."

"Lucky's sleeping with Sam?"

"I don't know if they still are, but they were."

She sighed, dropping her arms limply to her sides. Sitting down on the edge of his bed, she patted the spot next to her.

He sat down, waited.

"The night of my accident, Lucky admitted to me that he had slept with Sam. Of course I forgot, but earlier today Sam confronted me about you and it all kind of came back to me."

"Sam confronted you?" he asked, anger slowly building within him. It was one thing for Sam to bother him, but he hated that she was now going after Elizabeth. He needed to do something to stop her antics.

"It was nothing big," she rolled her eyes. "But it did cause me to remember why I left the house so late. I left because Lucky and I fought about it. I had left him that night."

It was a lot of information to take in but the one thing Jason latched onto was that she had left Lucky. There might be a chance that…

"And now?" he whispered.

"I just left him again," she said, her voice as soft as his. "Do you know what this means, Jason?"

He hoped he did.

"Sam's baby might not be yours."

His head jerked back slightly, his brow furrowed. With everything going on, he hadn't even thought about that. "She said she hadn't slept with anyone…" he let the statement go.

"But she did. Lucky." Sighing, Elizabeth ran her hands through her hair, turning on the bed to look at Jason more fully. Her leg was bent on the bed, her knee toughing his thigh. "The baby might be yours, but there is a chance that Sam was lying. She told Lucky that the two of you slept together right before you broke it off with her."

"We didn't," he cut in quickly, needing her to believe that. "Sam told me that we were together before I lost my memory."

"There could be a chance that Sam doesn't know who the father is and is saying it's yours because she wants you back. Or…" she shrugged her shoulders. "Or, she could be pregnant with Lucky's baby and knows it but is still saying it's… yours."

He remained silent, mulling over the possibilities.

"I don't _want_ to write her off as the bad guy, trying to trap you with a baby, but something isn't right. She's lying to everyone to cover something."

"If the baby is really mine, I'll be there for it. But I need to find out."

"Of course."

Jason watched her wring her hands, her fingers intertwining, squeezing, loosening. She was fidgeting with her engagement ring, twirling the ring around her finger. He watched as she took it off and looked at it, then slid it in the pocket of her jeans.

He placed his hand over the both of hers. "You ok?"

"Yes and no," she sighed, lifting one hand from beneath his and swiping an unruly hair behind her ear. "For awhile now I've realized that something wasn't right between me and Lucky. We've been loosing touch with each other and it's like our love wasn't there anymore. His affair with Sam only pushed me to realize that it's over… it can't work."

His thumb swept back and forth over the back of her hand, her fingers moved to twine with his. When their hands locked, he felt a jolt rush through him.

"I just wish it didn't have to hurt so much."

His eyelids drooped as his stare focused on her mouth. She was leaning towards him, her head tilted back, just enough access for him to lean down and kiss her. "Would you ever go back to him?"

"No," her answer was immediate as she leaned closer to him. "I've lost my trust for him and I don't think I could ever get it back. It just… hurts."

He wanted so badly to kiss her in that moment, to lean forward, closing the gap between them and taste her. But she didn't need that right now, she needed him to comfort her.

Not take advantage of her.

Letting go of her hand, Jason slid it behind her back, pulling her close to him as he held her. "It's going to be ok."

Her arm slid around his back, causing a chill to run up his spine as her cold hand grazed him. Her other hand spread out against his chest and stomach, her fingers dancing across her skin. She probably had no idea what she was doing to him. "Are _you_ ok?" she asked.

Not with her touching him like that.

"I'm fine," he crocked out, clearing his throat to push past the sudden lump that formed there.

She lifted her head from his shoulder, keeping her arm around him, her hand still flat against his stomach. "You looked kind of upset when I got her. I'm sure me dumping all of this about Sam and the baby couldn't help. Are you ok?"

"I'm better now that you're here."

Her face softened, a slight smile upon her lips. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "But I'm ok. You being here helps."

"I'm glad." Her gaze dropped to his lips and Jason did everything her could to suppress the groan he needed to release. "Different events and tragedies have a funny way of putting things into perspective," she spoke softly, seductively.

His voice matched hers, "Yeah… they do."

Their eyes connected, blue locking on blue. Hers seemed to soften even more. As if reading each others minds, knowing exactly what the other wanted, their heads moved closer together, their lips grazing slightly.

The slight touch of her soft, alluring lips was enough to do him in. Moving closer to her, Jason tightened his hold around her waist, bringing his other hand to her hair, grasping it in his fist. She met him just as hard, wrapping her arms around his neck, crushing her mouth to his.

The kiss was bruising, not at all like their kiss downstairs.

He heard her moan, fueling his lust.

Elizabeth's hands alternated between running through his hair, down his chest, and across his back. It was like she couldn't get enough of him like he couldn't get enough of her.

He deepened the kiss, running his tongue along the seam of her lips, sighing and groaning when her lips flowered under his and allowed him entry.

Their tongues dueled in a hot dance as their bodies seemed to fuse together.

Needing air, Jason lifted his lips from hers only long enough to allow the both of them to take a breath in. Then he was on her again, his tongue sweeping in her mouth as he hugged her tight, lowering her to the bed.

They inched their way up the bed until her head hit his pillow, their bodies completely on the bed. Her legs opened, cradling him between her thighs.

He wanted to taste every inch of her, knowing she would taste just as sweet as he imagined.

She moved against him, bringing her center into contact with his painful erection. He followed her movements, loving the feel, loving when she moaned.

His lips trailed down her throat, kissing along her jaw to the other side of her graceful neck. She tasted so damn good.

He breathed her in, continuing to trail his lips against her throat and to her ear. He nibbled her there, ginning when she jolted against him, moaning.

Her hips rose as she continued to move against him, he pushed forward, grinding against her.

"Jason…" she half gasped, half moaned.

He returned his lips to hers, close to breaking, not wanting to stop. His head began to ache slightly, a dull throb behind his eyes. But he didn't stop, couldn't stop.

He couldn't break away even when a memory caused bright lights to flash against his lids. His body slowed down against hers, but his lips still kissed hers as he focused on the memory.

It was dark. They were in some type of art studio and he was kissing her, his hands pulling her shirt up as he walked backward towards a couch. He could feel himself fall against it as she landed on top of him. Their mouths were fused together in the same fiery passion as they were at that moment in Jakes.

In his memory, his hands continued to lift her shirt higher and when he was close to relieving her off it, she jumped off of him.

"

"Ok," he said calmly even though a fire was raging inside of him, needing her to help him relieve it. .

"'Ok'? That's it? Just 'ok'?" she asked in disbelief, titling her head to the side, a frown scrunching her forehead.

"

The pain in his head became so excruciating that he couldn't think anymore, couldn't concentrate.

Gasping, Jason removed his lips from Elizabeth's, moving off of her as his hands pressed against his head, trying in vain to relieve the throbbing pain.

He fell back against the bed, his body still hot from their kiss, slowly cooling off as it tried to curl into itself. The heels of his palms rubbed against his eyes, the blinding pain never easing.

Elizabeth spoke beside him. "Jason… wow, I-I, yeah …we should stop," she breathed. He felt the bed shift and then her hands were grasping his wrists.

"Jason?" her voice was panicked. "Jason, what's wrong?"

He couldn't answer her, couldn't form a single breath. He hissed as another sharp stab made his ears ring. "Oh my god, Jason…" he felt the bed shift again as Elizabeth got up.

The last thing he focused on was her gentle hand running through his head as she whispered. "Please be ok."

And then the world around him went black.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Elizabeth watched in horror as the gurney Jason was lying on pushed passed the emergency room doors, causing havoc within the hospital. Everything was happening so fast but yet she felt like she was living in slow motion.

They weren't helping him fast enough, she thought to herself, frantic with worry.

Ever since Jason passed out on his bed, his face contorted with pain, Elizabeth had felt like she couldn't breathe, like she was helpless. All she could do was call nine-one-one and wait until the ambulance came.

They had arrived within minutes but she felt like it had taken hours. The entire time she waited her hands never left his face, stroking his cheek, his hair, begging him to wake up.

When he finally did wake up, it was to scream out in pain as the ambulance jostled its way to General Hospital. Tears had gathered in eyes, closing her throat as she watched the paramedics restrain Jason against his own strength. She wanted to tell them to leave him alone, to let him do whatever he needed to relieve the pain, but she had kept quiet.

Knowing it wouldn't have helped.

Now, as doctors and nurses rushed to Jason's aid, Elizabeth wished she was on duty so she could be one of those nurses helping him. Instead, she was a bystander, watching in fear as someone she cared about, really, truly cared about, was in danger of… she didn't even know.

All she knew was that it had something to do with his headaches from his memory loss.

Could this be it? she feared. Could this be the final headache that ended his life?

No, she screamed within. Jason was going to be ok. He had to be. She couldn't lose him, not now. Not after everything they had been through. Not after he was finally getting his life back in order.

Tony Jones made his way to Jason, rushing past the occupants of the ER area. He reached in his pocket for his flashlight pen as he reached Jason's side. Elizabeth clutched her hands tightly to her chest, watching as the doctor examined Jason.

She flinched when Jason jerked on the gurney as the light touched his sensitive eyes. She wanted so much to walk over to him and take away his pain, but she couldn't. The only thing she could do was watch as he writhed in pain.

Tony snapped his penlight off, placing it in his pocket. "Take him to Exam Room Three," he said to one nurse. Turning to another, he ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Prep the OR room, there's a chance we'll have to operate."

Elizabeth felt her breath catch in her throat as the nurse nodded and ran off to do her job. As two orderlies wheeled Jason away, she approached Dr. Jones. "Is he going to be ok?" she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

"I don't know," he shrugged apologetically. "I'm going to run a couple of tests on him but I'm pretty sure we'll have to operate."

"I want to be with him," she stated with conviction, standing tall.

"Elizabeth, you know…"

"Please." She could feel her eyes watering, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I need to be with him. I promise I won't get in the way."

Sighing, Dr. Jones gave in. "Ok, but only for a little while. When he's being tested, you'll have to wait outside."

"Ok," she nodded in quick agreement, already making her way to Jason. "Thank you!" she called over her shoulder.

She made it to his room quickly, opening the doors quietly, not wanting to disturb him. The nurse just finished setting up his IV when Elizabeth entered, leaving to update Dr. Jones.

Jason's hands were covering his face, the heels of his palms pushing against his eyelids. Elizabeth walked slowly to his bedside, fighting tears at the sight of him. He was in so much pain and she couldn't do anything for him.

She stopped by the side of his bed, her hand reaching out before she could think. Her fingertips grazed the side of his face gently before running slowly through his hair. He lowered his hands to his sides, opening his eyes slowly. They only opened to slits, but she could still see the beautiful blue of his eyes.

"Hey," she whispered, a gentle smile touching her lips.

He cleared his throat, wincing, "Hi."

Her hand continued to explore his hair, running through the flyaway hairs that stuck against his sweaty forehead. "You scared me," she scolded lightly.

His eyes opened wider as his hand reached for hers. He grasped it lightly, weightlessly as though he had no strength. Fresh tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Shh," she murmured as she shook her head. "I just need you to be ok."

Squeezing her hand gently, Jason did his best to hide his wince, but she still saw it. "I'm ok."

"Jason, you're in pain."

"I'm _going_ to be ok."

Giving him a watery smile, Elizabeth stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. "You better." She dashed away a tear. Even in pain, even when his life was in danger, Jason always found a way to reassure her when it should have been the other way around. "You _are_ going to be ok. You're strong and you're going to fight through this."

"Thank you."

She watched as his eyelids drooped, showing his exhaustion.

"Elizabeth?" Tony called from behind her, making her turn around. "We need you to step outside."

Nodding, Elizabeth looked down at Jason one last time, smiling, trying the only way she could to give him encouragement. It hurt her so much to see him in such pain, to see him struggling like he was in that moment. Jason had always been bigger than life to her, stronger than anyone she had ever known.

She never wanted to see him this weak.

"I'll be right outside." He didn't respond in words, only nodded once, closing his eyes.

She lingered for as long as she could. With one last caress of her hand, Elizabeth left the room, hoping she left some of her strength with him.

She stepped out into the hallway and immediately went to the window to look in as Tony examined Jason. Her bottom lip began to hurt as she continued to bite down on it, but she couldn't stop. Her body wanted her to move, to pace the halls, but she couldn't look away. She feared that if she didn't see him, see that he was ok, something would happen.

"What happened?"

Elizabeth cringed at the sound of the voice behind her. Then she got mad.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not turning around.

"I heard that Jason was brought to the hospital," Sam said as she approached the window to stand beside Elizabeth, looking in.

Turning, Elizabeth gave the other woman a narrowed eyed look. "How did you hear?"

"I just did."

"Are you following him?" Elizabeth asked as the hairs at the back of her neck began to stand.

Sam turned, placing her hands on her hips as she faced Elizabeth. "Are you kidding me? I—"

"How did you hear?" Elizabeth asked forcefully, not at all in the mood to listen to Sam's excuses and cutting remarks.

"That's none of your business," Sam snarled. "Besides," she shrugged her shoulders, a smug look appearing on her face, "Jason would want me here; I am pregnant with his baby."

"You are such a liar."

"Excuse me?"

"I know about you and Lucky," Elizabeth snapped, disgust lacing her words and marring her features. "Jason isn't the father, is he? Lucky is."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

Her worry for Jason took the fight out of Elizabeth. She knew this wasn't the time or the place to get in a fight with Sam. All Elizabeth knew was that she was not going to allow Sam anywhere near Jason. "Go home, Sam."

Sam took a step closer to Elizabeth, pointing a finger in her face. "Do not tell me what to do. Jason loves _me_, he needs _me_."

"Were you thinking about Jason and his need for you when you were sleeping with Lucky?" Elizabeth blurted, unable to control herself. She didn't back down from Sam, but stood her ground, ignoring the annoying finger that was close to poking her.

"Is that true?"

Both women turned at the sound of Sonny's voice. Elizabeth didn't know whether to be relieved or uncomfortable to see him standing there, obliviously hearing what the two of them were fighting about.

He stepped closer to her and Sam, his expression serious. "Are you sleeping with Lucky Spencer?" he addressed his question to Sam.

"That is none of your business."

"It is when you claim to be pregnant with my best friend's child."

"_I am_."

"So you didn't sleep with Lucky?" Sonny continued with his interrogation.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, daring the other woman to lie. Instead, Sam looked away and when her eyes connected with Sonny's there were tears threatening to spill.

Sam looked towards the ceiling, sniffing. "I was lonely. But Jason _is_ the father."

"Really, Sam?" Elizabeth cut in. "When did you conceive this child with _Jason_?" She paused for a moment then cut in, not wanting to hear anymore lies. "See, you told Lucky that you and Jason were together before he broke up with you… _after_ he lost his memory. And then you told Jason that the two of you were together _before_ his memory loss.

"Which one is it?" A second went by before Elizabeth went on. "Let me answer that for you. Neither. Jason isn't the father, Lucky is." Elizabeth spoke to Sonny.

Sam made a lunge for Elizabeth. Sonny stopped her by grabbing her by the arm. "Watch it," he spoke softly, lethally. "You're pregnant."

"She doesn't know what she's talking about!" Sam screamed.

"You know—"

"Shut up!" Sam cut Elizabeth off, wrenching her arm out of Sonny's grasp. She turned to look up at Sonny, her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Elizabeth could see Sam's chin wobble and she rolled her eyes.

She hoped Sonny wasn't stupid enough to buy this.

"I wouldn't use a child to get to Jason, Sonny. Not after what happened to our daughter."

"Do _not_ use our child." He moved closer to Sam, lowering his head and voice. Elizabeth wanted to applaud him but didn't. "I will find out the truth," his lips curled. "Do not lie to me. Get out of here."

Sam continued to look at Sonny for a moment before she turned a deadly look at Elizabeth. "I hate you." She seethed and then walked away.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, focusing her attention back on Jason's room. She hated herself in that moment, too. Instead of worrying about Jason she was fighting with Sam.

She felt Sonny stand beside her and place his hand on her shoulder. "He has to be ok," she whispered brokenly, glancing at Sonny. "He has to be."

Nodding, Sonny looked away, clearing his throat. "He will be. He's strong."

Elizabeth smiled, leaning closer to Sonny, finding it hard to stay standing. It had been a while since she was able to stand in the same room with Sonny and not be angry with him. But now, watching as Dr. Jones examined Jason, Elizabeth saw all of the anger and resentment for Sonny from the past wash away. It seemed foolish now, not worth her time.

Jason needed both of them.

"That's what I told him," she spoke after a long, silent moment. "That he was strong and he'd fight through whatever was happening."

"You have to believe that."

"I just…" bowing her head, Elizabeth let a few tears slide past her tightly closed lids. She swiped them away with the back of her hands, feeling Sonny slide his arm around her. "I can't lose him. Not after everything…"

Sonny held her as they watched through the window, the open blinds giving them only a partial view. His hand was running up and down her arm, soothing her.

Finally, he spoke, "He cares a lot about you."

Lifting her head from his shoulder, Elizabeth pulled out of his hold to look up at him. Confused, her forehead creased in a frown.

"You're the only friend that Jason's trusted completely since his memory loss."

She shook her head. "He trusts you."

"Not completely," he said sadly and Elizabeth felt sorry for him. She knew how close Jason and Sonny were and she also knew that this had to be hard on him. Sonny continued. "From the start you've been the only one who hasn't pushed him. He's been able to count on you. I just wanted to thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me," her voice was low as she blushed slightly. "I was just helping a friend."

Before Sonny could respond, Tony stepped outside Jason's room. "Elizabeth, Jason's asking for you."

Breathing deeply, Elizabeth glanced at Sonny who nodded once. She moved past Tony, walking into Jason's room and moving quickly to the side of his bed. He watched her since the moment she stepped into his view. It didn't unnerve her like it should have. His stare made her steps sure, confident.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. She was too afraid.

"I have to have surgery," he spoke gently, as if he knew she dreaded his words.

"There's no other way?"

He shook his head.

In that moment, Elizabeth wanted to throw herself in his arms, cry and never let him go. She knew how dangerous the surgery was, how he might not wake up from it. The drugs were supposed to work for him so he wouldn't have to have the surgery. It wasn't fair.

"Hey," Jason cut into her thoughts, grabbing her hand and pulling her down until she sat at the edge of his bed. One hand held onto hers as his other caressed her cheek, the backs of his fingers moving gently against her skin. "I'm going to be ok."

Her free hand moved to hold his hand against her cheek as she fought off\ the never ending tears. "You have to be."

Wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, Jason tugged her close so that her forehead rested against his. "I will. I have something to fight for."

His words cut through to her core, branding themselves against her heart, her soul. Lifting her head slightly, Elizabeth leaned forward and placed her lips where her forehead had just been resting. She lingered, giving him a gentle kiss before pulling back. "Sonny's outside."

"I'd like to see him."

Giving him one last kiss against his forehead, Elizabeth pulled back, smiling gently. "I'll go get him."

* * *

Once Elizabeth's back was turned, Jason tried his best to sit straighter in bed, not wanting Sonny to see him in such a venerable position. The throbbing in his head didn't stop but had eased since he got to the hospital earlier.

He hissed as he tried to lift his head but continued to sit up. He got as far as he could, leaning back against his pillow, breathing heavily.

Sonny walked in. "Hey, man," he said, approaching Jason slowly.

"I need to ask you a favor," Jason spoke immediately, knowing he didn't have much time before they got him ready for surgery.

"Anything."

Clearing his throat, Jason looked Sonny in the eye, knowing it was now or never. He hoped the older man would agree, knowing what he was about to ask wasn't fair of him. But he needed to ask.

"I have to go through with the surgery," he began. "Dr. Jones said there's a chance I might not wake up."

"Don't think about that."

"I have to," he spoke with force, needing Sonny to hear him out. "I have to think about all the possibilities. I don't want to be a vegetable, Sonny." Jason waited. When Sonny nodded, he continued. "If something happens and I don't wake up, I want you to make sure I don't live."

"No."

"Then I won't have the surgery."

"Damn it!" Sonny yelled, walking away from Jason's side. He paced the length of the room and when his eyes focused on Jason, he could see tears lingering. "I can't do that."

"I can't live like a vegetable… I won't. Please, as my friend, as someone I trust, promise me Sonny."

Jason felt his chest harden, making it hard to breathe. He could see the torture Sonny was going through and he hated himself. But he had to do this. There was no other option but to have the surgery, Tony had informed him. If he didn't go through with it, then he would die within days.

But, if he did go through with it, there was a chance he would spend the rest of his life lying in a hospital bed. Unresponsive, unable to move, unable to do anything on his own.

He would rather die then have that happen. _If _that did happen, he needed Sonny's promise that he would end it there.

There would be no reason for Jason to live.

"Ok," Sonny whispered hoarsely. Jason felt his own eyes burn as he watched Sonny wipe his eyes, pressing his fingers into his lids.

Sonny approached the bed. Reaching one hand out, Sonny grasped Jason's shoulder. "Fight this, man. Make it through the surgery."

Jason closed his eyes against a sharp pain deep in his skull. When darkness should have greeted him, a blurry vision of Sonny stood before him. He was younger, and just like in the hospital room, there were tears in his eyes.

"_Don't you die on me," Sonny wheezed, rubbing at his face as he stared at Jason. _

"_Don't you die on me," Jason retorted jokingly to cover up the pain he felt. He was leaving town and he was saying goodbye. He felt a sense of betrayal as he looked at Sonny, like he was betraying the older man by leaving him. But he couldn't let that show because he knew he had to go. People's lives were at stake. _

As suddenly as the vision appeared, it vanished, bringing Jason back to his hospital room, Sonny looking at him with concern. When his eyes connected with his friend's, he knew how much their friendship had meant to him before.

It was beginning to mean that much to him now, too.

"Thank you," Jason spoke quietly, "for being there for me."

Sonny didn't speak, maybe because he couldn't, maybe because he had nothing to say. The only acknowledgement he gave Jason's words was by grasping his shoulder tighter, squeezing then pulling away.

Sonny was making his way to the door when Jason called out to him.

"One more favor." Sonny turned. "Watch out for Elizabeth if anything happens to me."

"I will," Sonny promised.

And then he was gone.

* * *

Elizabeth stood in the hallway outside of Jason's room. Sonny was with her, though neither of them spoke. She was wringing her hands, watching as the nurses prepped Jason for surgery. For the second time that day she wished she could be on duty, taking care of him.

She glanced at Sonny, itching to ask him what he and Jason spoke about but knowing she wouldn't. She didn't like the solemn look on his face, like he was giving up. "He'll be ok," she whispered to herself and to Sonny, he didn't look at her.

The orderlies entered his room, ready to take him to the operating room. When they wheeled his bed into the hall, Elizabeth rushed to his side, making them stop.

Jason grabbed her hand.

"I'll be here when you get out of surgery," she assured him, squeezing his hand.

He gave her a small smile, just a tilt of the corner of his lips. The orderlies began to move the bed, causing them to break their contact.

She continued to watch Jason being wheeled down the hall, feeling her stomach turn as bile rose to the back of her throat.

It was in that moment that Elizabeth finally listened to what her heart had been trying to tell her mind for a while now.

She was in love with him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Jason woke to the sound of a steady beep, seeming far off in the distance. He couldn't place what the sound was at first, not knowing many things that beeped at a constant pace. But when he fought through the fog that was weighing him down, keeping him firmly in place, Jason started at the recognition of the sound.

A bomb.

His heart began to race at a frantic speed when he couldn't move or open his eyes. He fought so hard that it caused a sharp pain to slash through his already aching head. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't waking up but figured someone had probably knocked him upside the head.

Which would explain the headache.

He commanded his arms to move, they didn't. He struggled to open his eyes, they wouldn't.

The beep began to increase, counting down the seconds before it was about to go off. He continued to struggle, fighting against whatever it was that was keeping him immobile.

When he finally pushed past the last barrier, feeling his body and mind enter the here and now, his racing heart began to ease, the steady beep sounding closer, slower.

His brow furrowed in confusion as a sterile smell hit him sharply, as the beeping sounded less like a bomb and more like a…

He was in a hospital.

Anger swept through him swiftly. He hated hospitals, hated even more that he couldn't figure out why he was there. He searched his memory for what had happened that landed him in the last place he ever wanted to be. He didn't recall any mob hits, for all he knew he wasn't shot.

The only thing that hurt was his head.

And it hurt like hell.

His hand lifted slightly from his side, rising no higher than a couple of inches. He couldn't lift it any higher, feeling drained from such a little task. He felt his lashes flutter against his skin as he tried to open his eyes, even if it was just slightly.

His eyes cracked open sighting an unclear view of the ceiling of his hospital room. Slowly, they began to focus, closing when the light of his room became too much to bare.

He opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly as he surveyed as much as he could see without moving his head. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but the closed blinds of his window, when he looked left, the vision before his eyes confused him even more.

Elizabeth sat huddled in a chair beside his bed. She looked uncomfortable but content sleeping there. Her hair hid half of her face, falling forward as her cheek leaned against the side of the chair. She had her chin resting against her fist, her elbow resting against the armrest of the chair.

He was confused as to why she was there but it felt…_ right_ that she was there.

Instead of questioning her appearance in his hospital room, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

A small smile touching his lips.

* * *

He couldn't remember how long it had been since the last time he woke up, having no sense of time.

But since seeing Elizabeth in his room, he couldn't open his eyes again. It was like he was there, listening to the happenings of what was going on in his room, but he couldn't open his eyes and tell them all that he was ok or to leave him alone.

He always heard when the nurses came in, poking at him, annoying the hell out of him.

He always sensed when Elizabeth walked in, feeling her presence before she announced that it was her

She talked a lot, though. Mostly about nothing, but he didn't care. It was good to hear her voice, to know that she was there. He never knew how long she really stayed, but he always felt it and hated it when she left. She would slowly let go of his hand, run her fingers through his hair, and then she would leave. When she was gone was when he felt truly alone.

It was after Sonny visited him that Jason began to recall recent events, confusing his mind even more.

Sonny had walked in, taking a seat by his bed, clearing his throat several times. Jason would have laughed at that, if he could have.

"You need to wake up," Sonny whispered. "I can't…I can't follow through on my promise."

There was a long pause, a silence that had unnerved Jason. "I can't do it." Sonny cleared his throat again, sighing. "I would never forgive myself if I let you die."

Something in the back of Jason's mind triggered a memory at that. He remembered asking Sonny to end his life if he didn't wake up. He had also asked him to watch out for Elizabeth.

And then the memories kept coming.

They were mostly of Elizabeth. Talking to her on the docks, taking her for a bike ride up to the bridge where they almost kissed. He remembered meeting with her constantly, confiding in her about not knowing who he really was.

There were memories of her telling him about their past, a beautiful smile always gracing her lips.

There were also moments from Jakes, Kelly's and the park that flashed in his memory.

He felt raw pain when his mind saw her lying on a hospital bed, bruised from a car accident, brokenhearted when she learned that her baby had died, letting him hold her when she cried.

The memories continued to flood him. All of them coming back to him and, if he had not been lying on a hospital bed, they would have knocked him on his ass.

It was the memory of touching Elizabeth's hand before he was wheeled away to the operating room that caused Jason to fight harder against whatever it was that was keeping him in this constant state.

It was the knowledge that he loved her and wanted to be with her that made him fight so hard that his eyes finally opened.

* * *

Elizabeth was beginning to hate General Hospital. It was quite unfortunate considering she worked there but it was the truth.

Sitting next to Jason's hospital bed, Elizabeth watched as his brow lifted every now and then. Her heart raced every time he made a little movement, thinking each time that he was going to wake up.

He never did.

She smoothed away his frown with the tips of her fingers, gazing thoughtfully at him. Her throat closed, like it always did when she looked at him, thinking about how he might never wake up. She hardly allowed herself to think that way, needing to believe that he _would_ make it. But there were moments, when she couldn't think of anything to say, that she would think about all the possibilities of him not waking up.

There were parts of her that was ready to give up, but she wouldn't allow it. Jason was strong and he was going to wake up.

As if he could hear her thoughts, as if he was waiting for that exact moment to prove the tiny part of her that was breaking wrong, Jason's eyes fluttered open.

In that moment, she had never seen a sight so beautiful.

Her fingers continued to soothe through his hair, running along his scalp as she avoided his bandage. Her breaths deepened as she watched him wake. She wanted to cry out and hug him tight but held back.

When his eyes locked in on hers, they were clear, focused as if he had been awake for hours.

She smiled, relieved. "Hi," she spoke so soft she almost didn't hear herself.

She saw Jason move his lips then lick them when nothing came out. She reached over to his bedside table and picked up the cup of water that was sitting there, placing the straw against his parched lips.

He took several greedy sips, a man dying of thirst. He coughed a little, closing his eyes when it caused him some pain. "How long…?"

Not needing him to explain, Elizabeth looked away from his penetrating eyes, watching as her fingers moved through his hair. She locked her gaze back on his. "Almost three weeks. I was afraid you'd never wake up," she sniffed, letting a tear slip down her cheek. "But, I guess you were just really tired and needed a nap," she teased, laughing at herself.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired."

"Well, you have been pretty lazy, lying in this hospital bed for weeks," she continued with her light mood, needing to tease for fear she'd break down right then and there her relief was so great. He smiled slightly and that seemed to be her undoing.

Fresh tears gathered behind her eyes, burning them. "Are you feeling any pain?"

He cleared his throat, tried to sit up but stopped and fell back against the bed. "My head hurts and I feel weak, but that's it." He reached for her hand, linking his fingers with hers. "How are you?"

"Jason, you're the one who's in the hospital after—"

"You seem upset," he cut in gently, his thumb stroking the back of her hand.

She lowered her head, watching his thumb move against her skin. "I was worried about you. I'm just so happy that you're finally awake."

"Is there anything wrong with me?"

She shook her head, tilting it to the side. "Dr. Jones said that everything was good. They ran a lot of tests on you and they all came back with no problems. You just wouldn't wake up and Tony figured it was the stress of the operation. He also said it could have been one of the side effects."

"So I won't get anymore headaches?"

"You shouldn't according to what Tony spoke to me about."

"Good," he nodded slightly, holding her hand a little tighter. His eyes softened as he gazed up at her and just like he had done before his operation he tugged on her hand lightly, pulling her down until she sat on the edge of his bed. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me, too."

His eyes lightened as a grin tilted a corner of his mouth. "When do I get to go home?"

Laughing, Elizabeth patted his cheek, leaving her free hand resting there. "Not anytime soon. You just had brain surgery, you know."

They were both silent, not needing to speak, comfortable together. She could feel herself getting lost in his eyes, the hospital room fading away in the background, nothing else existing except for him.

"Thank you," he whispered, breaking through her thoughts.

"For what?"

"For staying with me."

Her lips quirked to the side, a devilish look in her eyes, "Like you had a choice of getting rid of me."

"I wouldn't want to."

Just when Elizabeth was about to say everything she had promised she would tell him the second he woke up, that she loved him, that she needed him and never wanted to let him go, Dr. Jones walked into Jason's room, seizing her admission.

"I see you've finally decided to wake up."

Elizabeth felt Jason stiffen next to her. She stood, turned to smile at Tony as he walked towards the bed, Jason's chart open in his hands. "He just woke up a couple of minutes ago."

"Good," Tony nodded as the nurse who walked in behind him checked Jason's IV. He handed the chart to the nurse when she finished, reaching inside his lab coat pocket for his penlight. Turning it on, Tony had Jason follow the light with his eyes.

He clicked the penlight off, seeming satisfied with how Jason's eyes followed it every which way. Placing his hands on his hips, Tony spoke to Jason. "What's your name?"

Jason sighed, "Jason Morgan."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"I was having headaches whenever I had a memory. You said I needed to be operated on when the test drugs didn't work."

Tony nodded. "Do you remember why you were having memory loss?"

"I took an experimental drug to help Michael."

"Do you remember any of the events before you took the drugs?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth had been watching the two of them, her eyes moving back and forth when each one spoke. But after Jason's last answer, she stood still, stunned, her eyes not leaving his face.

"Is anything blurry to you?" Dr. Jones continued with his questioning.

Jason shook his head lightly and Elizabeth began to feel her heart race. Her stomach felt like it was about to drop to the floor along with her jaw. "No," he sighed.

Satisfied, Dr. Jones nodded. "I'm going to order you another cat scan and run a couple more tests to make sure everything is ok and then we'll see what we can do to get you out of here in the next couple of days."

Elizabeth didn't move when Tony walked past her, leaving her alone with Jason once again. Her gaze was riveted on his and when he finally looked at her, the realization that dawned on her almost knocked her over.

Her legs felt sluggish as she walked back to his side. She stopped, not reaching out to him, not sitting down. She didn't know whether to be thrilled or upset by what she just learned. Did this mean things would change back to before…?

Her voice didn't sound like her own when she finally croaked out the words that she dreaded but needed to say. "You remember?"

Jason's eyes were soft, knowing. He looked away, grabbing her hand gently in his, watching it as he linked his fingers with hers once more. She looked down as well, mesmerized by the sight.

When he squeezed her hand, she looked into his eyes again, breathless.

"I remember everything."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Jason stood by the window of his hospital room, gazing out at the street below. There were people about, walking along and enjoying the bright day, not a care in the world. He envied them. Being cooped up in his hospital room for the past four days was slowly driving him to his breaking point.

He needed to get out of there. Fast.

The discharge nurse had come by his room earlier, telling him that he would be able to leave in a couple of hours once all of his paperwork was clear and it had been the best news Jason had heard since he'd woken up. But when she told him he needed to set a ride up, Jason's good mood had turned sour.

He knew exactly who he wanted to call, if he wasn't so frustrated with her.

Elizabeth had been by to visit him every day since he woke up, probably every day since he had been admitted. She even came by several times a day, especially when she was working. There visits were always the same. She'd start off by asking how he was doing, fussing over him constantly. She would ramble about nothing and everything.

Everything except for them and their… relationship.

Even when he tried to bring it up, she would quickly change the subject or act like she had to leave all of a sudden. She would always come back though, apologizing for leaving so quickly the last time she was there. But it never changed. The only time she had talked about them was when he had first woken up and told her he remembered everything.

His shoulders shook lightly as he laughed silently, dipping his head. She had looked so scared when he had murmured those words. Her eyes had opened wide, her mouth forming an 'o.' It confused him that she had looked so shocked… scared. It confused him so much that he couldn't help but laugh.

When she had finally gained her composure, she spoke, losing it once again. "You… I… you remember?" she stumbled over her words.

His answer was simple, straight forward. "Yes."

"Everything? Before and after…?"

It was then that he couldn't hold his smile back any longer. It wasn't a huge smile, showing off all of his teeth, but it was one of his rare ones, one he only used with Elizabeth. "I remember my life since I woke up ten years ago. And I remember everything that happened after I took the experimental drug."

She stared at him, nodding absently. "That's… that's great!" she finally smiled, looking pleased for him but yet skeptical. "I'm so happy for you. You can finally get your life back to normal."

"There are some things that have changed."

"Of course."

"What happened between us—"

She cut him off, "I know this may be a little weird for you. I mean, we hadn't spoken to each other in almost a year and then you loose your memory and we grew close again and now you remember everything," she was speaking so fast, Jason was having a hard time keeping up with her. "I just wanted to be there for you."

"You were."

"Yeah…" her voice lowered. She sounded almost sad. "I guess I was. But now that—"

"Elizabeth, I don't want—"

"Mr. Morgan," a nurse interrupted them both, "it's time for your tests."

Scrubbing a hand down his face, Jason sighed in anger. That was the last of their conversation that night and it bothered him that Elizabeth might think that just because he remembered who he was that it would change what they went through the past month.

He was just going to have to sit her down and tell her to shut up and listen to him.

He snorted. Like that would go over well with her. She'd get all feisty, just they way he liked her and maybe even…

"Jason?"

He turned just his head to look over his shoulder, his eyebrows lifting. Sam was standing there, a shy expression softening her face. She looked hesitant about entering. She smiled softly as she finally entered his room, closing the door behind her.

When he turned his entire body to stand before her, she rushed forward, flinging her arms around his neck. "I've missed you," she whispered in his ear.

He stiffened as her arms tightened around his neck. Placing his hands on her shoulders, Jason pulled her away from him, not liking what he felt in her presence. "What are you doing her?" he asked gruffly.

"I would have been here sooner," she pursed her lips. "But somebody told security to not let me see you. Can you believe that? I know it was that bitch—"

"Sam," Jason said in a warning tone.

She ignored him. Instead, she cupped his cheeks in her hands, spreading her fingers through his hair. "Is it true? You remember everything?"

He jerked his head, but she didn't release him. "Yeah."

Instantly, her eyes filled with tears. He never noticed how quickly she was able to cry until he lost his memory. He couldn't help but think of all the times she cried in front of him before, knowing how much he hated to see her hurt.

It just pissed him off now.

"I'm so relieved! I can't wait to take you home and then we can finally be a family with our little—"

"Stop." The one word was spoken with so much anger that it made her flinch. He pulled away from her, running his hands over his cheeks. "Stop… just stop lying."

"Lying?"

"I know I'm not the father."

"Is that what Elizabeth told you?"

Her voice was so bitter that his hands clenched at his sides. Hearing her say Elizabeth's name with such disgust rattled his nerves. "She didn't have to. I remember everything, before and after. You lied to me about when _we_ conceived that baby. We haven't been together since before Michael was kidnapped. That was months ago." He also knew from Sonny that Sam's doctor wrote down the conception date for his files. It was after he lost his memory.

"Jason, you don't understand." Tears were streaming down her face now. He couldn't care.

"I understand that you tried to trap me by making me believe I was going to be a father. You didn't lie because you felt it was right, you did it because you couldn't let me have the time I needed to grasp what was happening to me."

"I was scared!" she screamed, pointing a finger at him as she advanced forward. "You wanted nothing to do with me and that hurt so much. You were ready to throw me to the side and you didn't even care how _I_ felt. I needed you and you weren't there for me."

"I needed time," he said forcefully but didn't raise his voice. "I told you what happened to me when I lost my memory the first time and how the Quatermaines couldn't accept me and how that made me feel. You did the same thing to me. You pushed and you tried to make me remember too much. I didn't know who I was."

She licked her lips. "So… what? Because I had a moment of weakness because my _boyfriend_—the man that is supposed to love me—hurt me in the worst way possible, we're over and you're" she pointed at him, shaking her head, "you're the one who's ending it?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you but I couldn't remember who I was." He spoke slowly, feeling a headache form behind his eyes at her reasoning. She really did only think of herself.

"And that's my fault?"

"No," he slashed a hand through the air, squeezing his eyes shut. "But you lied and you hurt people."

"Elizabeth?" she raised her eyebrows, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Your precious _Elizabeth_."

His jaw ticked.

"The one who can do no wrong." Laughing, Sam licked her teeth. "I bet she's done nothing but lie to you, telling you all about her woes with Lucky, crying on your shoulder. She was using you Jason. What lies has she been spewing about me?"

Jason shook his head, narrowing his eyes. He was finally seeing Sam in a new light. She wasn't who he thought she was. Maybe she changed because of his memory loss, or maybe she was always that way and he just never noticed.

He noticed now, and he didn't have time for it anymore.

As if knowing he wanted her there instead of Sam, Elizabeth interrupted them, knocking softly at his door, a beautiful smile gracing her lips as she poked her head in. The smile fell once she spotted Sam.

"I'm sorry…I'll just—"

"No," Jason spoke quickly. "I don't want you to leave."

Both women looked at him in shock. Sam's expression leaning towards anger, Elizabeth's leaning towards curiosity.

"Sam and I are done here," he announced, meaning it in more ways then one.

Her nose scrunched as a snarl made her lips point. "You'll regret this," she whispered angrily. Stomping towards the door, Sam stopped before Elizabeth, her eyes narrowed. "I hope your happy you conniving bi—"

"Sam!"

She turned to glare at Jason once more before storming out.

"That was fun," Elizabeth snorted.

Pressing his fingers against his lids, Jason sighed. "I'm sorry she's angry with you."

"Please, she's just hurt. If she wants to blame me I don't care."

"But it's not your fault."

"I can handle Sam."

Jason nodded, smiling slightly.

"I just heard that you're about to be released," she beamed. "Dr. Jones is signing your papers right now."

"Good," he breathed, walking towards his bed where his duffle bag rested, already packed and ready to go, just like him.

"Anyway," Elizabeth frowned, "I was coming by to see if you needed a ride home."

"Yeah, thanks." He spoke shortly, causing her frown to deepen. Maybe it was because of his frustration over the past couple of days, or maybe it was because of his fight with Sam. He didn't know.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"You seem angry."

"I'm not angry with you."

By that time, she had walked to stand beside him as he lifted his duffle bag, her hand resting on his arm. She squeezed gently when he didn't look at her. His gaze collided with hers. He felt his gut clench at the sadness he saw.

"You're upset with me about something."

Turning to face her, Jason lifted his hand, his fingertips touching her hair just above her ear. Her hair was so soft that he glided his hand forward, running it through her waves. "I'm not upset with you. We just need to… talk."

"Talk?"

Her eyes opened wide again, her mouth forming an 'o' once more.

* * *

For someone who wanted to talk to her, Jason was being awfully quiet. Neither one of them said a word to the other on the ride to Jakes. She was too nervous and he was too busy opening her window and staring outside.

When she braved a couple of glances at him every now and then, his eyes would be closed as the air hit his skin, obliviously enjoying the feel.

It made her smile.

Now, standing behind Jason as he unlocked his door, Elizabeth felt her arms and legs begin to shake she was so nervous. Would he tell her that he regretted kissing her and it shouldn't have happened? Would he push her away, say that while he enjoyed their friendship, because he was back to his old life, it was too dangerous to keep it up? Would he thank her for her help and be her friend again, like they hadn't been distant with each other for an entire year?

Or would he tell her that he had feelings for her and wanted to give it a try?

She didn't know which scared her the most. She would hate to lose his friendship and, just like the other times he tried to cut it off before, she would fight him. But it still scared her that he might try to cut their friendship off again. It also scared her beyond belief that he might actually admit to having feelings for her _because_ she wanted that so much.

So much that it hurt.

Walking past Jason as he held the door open for her, Elizabeth set her sight on everything except for his bed. The last time they were together in that room, it was on that bed that their friendship changed completely. Well, her friendship with the Jason who didn't remember.

Ugh, it was just way too confusing.

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth turned, smiling. "So, are you glad to be home?"

The look on his face, the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her made it loud and clear to Elizabeth that that was the _last _thing he wanted to talk about. So much for starting slowly and working their way to the hard stuff.

"Sit," he commanded, pointing to the bed.

All of a sudden, her legs stopped shaking. Her heartbeat began to slow and her nervousness changed to annoyance. She quirked an eyebrow, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Jason sighed, walked over to the bed, sat down and then reached for her arm and pulled her down next to him. When he took her hand in his, linking their fingers and resting it in his lap, Elizabeth softened, turning her body towards his.

She swallowed as her throat became suddenly dry. This was it.

Jason cleared his throat, staring intently at their hands. When his gaze finally connected with hers it stole her breath away. His eyes were so soft, clear, beautiful.

"Things have changed," he whispered.

"I know."

"I don't think you do." She didn't speak, was too afraid to even move. Jason continued, his voice still soft. "When I lost my memory, you were the only one I could turn to."

She shook her head, unable to hold such a position. "You were able to turn to Sonny."

"After you showed me that I could trust other people."

"Jason."

"Please," he looked away then back at her. "I…I need to say this."

"Ok." She didn't know why, but there were tears in her eyes.

"You were the only one who didn't push me. You let me just…be. I began to seek you out, wanting to be around you and listen to you tell me about us. I new it then and I know it now that you never once lied to me about our past. Those talks became special to me, just like the memories have always been special to me.

"I began to…" he swallowed, blinking away tears. "I began to fall in love with you."

The air became thick, expanding around them so quickly that Elizabeth couldn't breathe.

Clearing his throat, he continued. "I had that surgery because I wanted to fight for you, even knowing the chances that I might not make it."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, a single tear slipped past her lashes, running down her cheek and landing on their joined hands.

"I-I love you, Elizabeth." She couldn't speak at first; her words were lodged in her throat. He looked nervous which most likely caused him to speak again. "I know we grew close again when I couldn't remember anything and I was different. But I thought that you felt something for me, too. It might have changed since—"

"You're wrong," she interrupted him, finally finding her voice. "You might not have remembered who you were, but you were the same Jason I had always known. Sweet and kind and gentle. Being able to spend time with you only opened my eyes to how much I've always cared about you.

"It was almost like fate threw us back together." Smiling, Elizabeth moved closer to him, using her free hand to cup his cheek, wanting to kiss him so deeply when he sighed at her touch. "I knew that something was changing between us and that my feelings for you were growing. But I was too scared to admit it. I was finally able to admit to myself that I was in love with you when you were being wheeled away and I might not ever see you open your eyes again."

Like she had done moments before, Jason slowly lifted his hand, resting it against her cheek and rubbing his thumb back and forth against her smooth skin. "Then why did you keep running away whenever I tried to talk to you about us."

"Honestly? I was scared. When you admitted to remembering everything I thought that you might want to go back to the way things were… before. I guess I just didn't want to hear the words."

He leaned forward, kissing her lightly. When he went to pull back, she wrapped her hand around his neck, deepening the kiss. They both groaned when her phone rang.

Elizabeth dug into her purse, pulling out her phone and leaning her forehead against Jason's shoulder as she answered. "Hello?"

"Elizabeth, it's your grandmother."

"Is everything ok?" she asked as she lifted her head.

"Everything's fine, dear. I was just hoping you could pick Cameron up a little earlier today. I've just been invited to Mrs. Evans bridge game and you know how much I've waited for that invitation."

"That's fine. I'll be right over."

"Thank you, dear."

Snapping her phone closed, Elizabeth looked regretfully into Jason's eyes. "I have to go pick Cameron up from Grams."

Dropping his chin to his chest, Jason looked at her through his lashes, grinning. "Ok."

She stood, Jason following right behind her. He grabbed her hand as she walked to the door, turning her towards him. Leaning down, he kissed the breath right out of her lungs, moving his lips slowly over hers.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm still not completely moved in to my new place so it'll most likely be pizza sitting on the floor…" she trailed off, already thinking he hated the sound of that. "You know what… forget—"

"I'd like that."

She felt her cheeks growing warm as a shy smile touched her lips. "I bet you're going to go on a bike ride until then, huh. You're probably itching for me to leave so you can feel the wind in your hair."

Jason shook his head.

"Why aren't you going for a ride? Are you still sore?"

"No," he cupped her face, leaning closer to her. "I want my first bike ride back to be with you."

Before she could speak, he kissed her long and hard, messing with her senses. When he pulled away he steered her towards the door. She was half way down the hallway, knowing he was watching her leave, when she stopped and turned around. Softly, shyly, she spoke, "I love you, Jason."

He didn't say the words back, he didn't have to. The love in his eyes as he gazed at her said enough.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six (NC-17)

Jason Morgan was the type of man who could sleep anywhere. He'd slept on floors, in the woods, in the backseat of his car, on a couch from the flea market in a little studio. If he needed to get a couple of hours of sleep to give him a little burst of energy that was needed during most of his jobs, all Jason had to do was find a safe place, close his eyes and he was out.

It was a gift he liked, being able to fall asleep once his eyes were closed and waking up just as quickly, alert to everything around him.

But as he stretched out on the couch in Elizabeth's living room, his head resting uncomfortably on the arm, his legs hanging over the other side, Jason couldn't fall asleep. His lack of sleep had little to do with his uncomfortable position and more to do with the woman who was most likely sleeping soundly in the room just down the hall.

He shouldn't be there, he sighed to himself as his legs practically shook with the need to get off of that couch and walk to Elizabeth's room. It wasn't safe, him being there. Not because his life was dangerous, but because he wanted nothing more than to be in that bed with her. Holding her. Making love to her.

But they had agreed to take things slow. It was too soon for the both of them to rush into anything, no matter how much they loved each other.

He thought he was ready to jump right in and be with her in every way possible. But when they had taken their bike ride, Elizabeth had explained to him why they shouldn't do that, and Jason had agreed with her.

Mostly because he really did agree with her, and partly because he didn't want to scare her off. He had just found her again; he wasn't willing to lose her.

She had explained that, though she loved him very much, if they were to go from being with Lucky and Sam to being with each other right away, it could do a lot of damage to their relationship. They both needed to take a step back and take things slow.

He had been worried at first, asking if she regretted ending it with Lucky. He couldn't understand at first why she needed more time. She and Lucky had been over for at least three weeks.

She just smiled, kissed him lightly and said, "I don't regret leaving Lucky. We should have never tried to be together again. I will always treasure the love I shared with Lucky when we were teenagers. But I've finally realized that we couldn't relive that love, which is what I think I was trying to do. I've grown up and both Lucky and I have changed. We're no longer those teenagers."

She stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. "You've been through a lot these last two months. I just want you to be sure about this."

He wanted to tell her that he _was_ sure, that it was moments like these that really made him see just how sure he was about being with her. But she was obliviously still nervous about starting something too quick, so he didn't say it.

When he had dropped her off that night, he made it known that although they weren't going to take the next step in their relationship yet; he was still going to kiss her whenever he wanted to. And he had done just that, kissing her soundly before making sure she went inside her apartment and locked the door before he left.

That had been a week ago and Jason had about as much time as he was going to need to help him decide what he already knew. He loved her and wanted to be with her.

He was trying to respect her wishes, which is why he always left her apartment at night when things started to heat up between them. It was always the same. He would come over for dinner, spend time with her and Cameron until the little boy went to bed. Then, Elizabeth would crawl onto the couch with him, curling into his side as they talked, sometimes watched a movie. Then the talking turned into kissing, and the kissing turned into heavy petting, and then they would both end up sprawled on the couch and one of them would always stop.

It was slowly killing him.

He wouldn't even be there right now if Elizabeth hadn't been adamant that he spend the night since it was storming and he only had his bike. He hadn't even tried to argue, knowing he would give in in the end.

Sighing, Jason turned on his side, shaking his foot to gain some circulation in it again. Spotting Cameron's motorcycle, Jason smiled. Sitting up, he took hold of the bike, flicking his finger against the wheel to make it spin.

Cameron loved that toy and it made him feel good to know that he was the one that gave it to him. His chest began to burn as he flipped the toy back and forth in his hands, recalling what happened earlier that night.

Elizabeth was cleaning up after dinner while Jason and Cameron played in the living room. The toddler had been running around the couch, making Jason follow him and squealing with glee when Jason would pick him up and toss him in the air.

Elizabeth would laugh as well then warn them not to break anything, her tone of voice motherly.

When Cameron tired of running around, he had plopped down on the floor, immediately reaching for his toy bike. Jason watched him from the couch, putting his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders when she joined him, hugging her close.

Not to be left out, Cameron wobbled his way to them, climbing up Jason's legs with all his might, his motorcycle tucked under his arm.

The three of them sat there for a time. Elizabeth resting her head on his shoulder, Cameron letting his bike wheels run up and down Jason's chest.

A chest that felt so tight, sitting there with Elizabeth and Cameron, that Jason was surprised he didn't burst. And it was in the next instant that Jason was surprised he could breathe at all.

Cameron looked up at him, a cheeky grin spreading his lips wide. "I Cam," he pointed to his chest. Then pointing to Elizabeth, he said, "She my mommy." Jason nodded, smiling slightly. "You," Cameron beamed, poking Jason's chest, "daddy."

Breath caught in throat, Jason stared at Cameron in awe. When the little boy threw his arms wide then threw his body towards Jason's, hugging him, it was all Jason could do to not break down right then and there.

Feeling the sting of tears, Jason placed Cameron's toy down, pressing his thumb and forefinger against his lids. He hadn't realized how much he wanted to be Cameron's father until that moment earlier that night.

Sitting back, Jason closed his eyes, sighing. He was still for several moments when he heard slight footsteps, causing his eyes to crack open.

Elizabeth was standing over him, about to place the blanket he had kicked off back over him. Seeing him peer up at her, she froze, blanket still in hand.

"Hi," she whispered shyly. "I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable."

He sat up slowly, not saying a word. His hands cupped around the back of her knees, slowly rising as he sat up straight until his hands rested high on the back of her thighs.

He felt her shiver. "I-I couldn't sleep."

His hands glided higher, over her backside, cupping slightly before moving all the way up to her waist. He stopped there, his fingers spreading out and holding her tight. "Neither could I."

Before she could respond, Jason was pulling her down on top of him, her thighs straddling his waist. She landed on top of him with a grunt, her face just inches away from his.

He didn't move in for the kiss, though he so desperately wanted to. But he leaned closer, his breath dancing against her parted lips.

"Elizabeth," he whispered, staring at her mouth. "Times up."

Her eyes flared, her tongue snaked out to lick her top lip. He felt her inch closer before she sighed, closing the small distance between their lips. "Thank, God," she breathed just as her lips descended on his.

Jason stayed motionless at first, letting her glide her lips against his in that erotic way of hers. Her cold hands touching then cupping his neck pushed him into action. His grip around her waist tightened as he shifted to settle her more deeply on his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist, their bodies touching in every spot possible.

The kiss turned heated, her mouth opening to allow his tongue inside to move along hers. They were breathing each other in, their arms wrapped tightly around the other like neither was ever going to let go.

Jason stood, Elizabeth's arms and legs wrapped around him. He didn't even have to open his eyes to make his way to her bedroom. He knew exactly where he was going and he did _not_ want to stop kissing her.

Elizabeth ran her hands along Jason's back, loving the hot feel of his bare skin. She was mentally running a checklist of everything she would have to remove on him to make him naked before her.

He already had his shirt off, probably taking it off right after she went into her room earlier that night. His jeans were still on, but when she had walked over to him, thinking he was still sleeping, she noticed that they were already unsnapped.

Good, she thought to herself, sighing as she angled her head to keep up with Jason's fierce kiss. The fewer clothes she had to remove the quicker they could get to the love making.

She felt herself being lowered to her bed, Jason's arms loosening from around her, causing her to pout. She liked his arms around her, loved being held by him.

Jason pulled back and when Elizabeth opened her eyes, he was staring down at her, his eyes questioning, his body pausing in all movements.

He wanted to make sure she was ready, that she wanted this.

Her answer was swift, immediate, honest. Slowly, she spread her fingers out, laying them against his cheek before gliding her hand forward to wrap around the back of his neck, tugging him near her.

When their lips met again, it was like opening a dam. Jason rested quickly between her spread legs, her thighs squeezing his waist. He moved his lips away from hers, trailing them down her neck, nipping lightly. Elizabeth could feel him chuckling against her when she moaned in his ear and jerked as he brought his erection in direct contact with her aching center.

Oh… he was good.

Her hands moved down his back until she felt the denim of his jeans. Curling her hands at the waistband, Elizabeth began to push them lower. When they wouldn't move further down, Jason hoisted himself to hover over her, taking his jeans along with his black briefs off.

Elizabeth licked her lips, gazing dreamily at his chest then lower, her eyes widening.

"Oh my…"

Jason's eyes snapped up, locking with hers. He dropped his clothes to the floor with a thud, his forehead creasing into a frown until he saw where she was looking.

And then he grinned.

Moving lower on the bed, Jason tugged her pajama pants low, moving slowly, allowing the cool air to hit her naked skin inch by inch. Elizabeth felt in a state of erotica as Jason kept his eyes on her, watching her every move, every expression as his callused hands glided against her skin.

She helped him remove her pants by lifting her legs, kicking the unwanted garment off. She shivered when he kissed her knees, one then the other, before making his way back up her body.

Somehow, she knew this is how he would be. Loving and gentle, taking care of her. It's how he was everyday, why should laying down with him be any different.

When he finally made his way back, settling against her again, their movement became slower, less heated and more loving. He kissed her again, long and slow as he glided his hands under her tank top, pulling it up.

She pouted as the kiss broke, knowing it had to so her shirt could come off but not wanting to ever stop kissing him. But he was right back, kissing her with such passion she could have died right then.

His hands were all over her, feeling her soft skin, mesmerizing her every curve.

When he finally set himself at her entrance, they both stopped moving, their eyes connected in waiting. He pushed forward, clenching his jaw at the friction. She felt so good it almost hurt.

Their hips began to move slowly as they savored the moment. There would be time to rush later, time to get their sexual frustration from the last couple of weeks out, but right now, in that moment, it was time for them to languish in each other.

Whether it was minutes or hours later, Elizabeth didn't know since everything seemed so timeless, but Jason began to pick up the pace, his hands cupping her cheeks as his thumbs rubbed back and forth. She felt her breathing shallow, coming out in short spurts, hitching every time he pushed forward.

Eyes connected, Jason thrust forward, bringing Elizabeth to the breaking point, causing her to moan in pleasure.

But she didn't close her eyes and neither did he. They stayed open, wide pools of blue shining down on her.

"I love you," he rasped as he surged over the edge, following her.

In his arms, being held so tenderly by the man she loved Elizabeth let her last guard down.

Their love would last forever and she finally truly believed it.

Finally.


	27. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

His eyes were so blue. Crystal clear, sharp yet warm, always causing her to tremble softly when they were focused solely on her.

Like they were in that moment.

Her stomach fluttered as she centered her gaze on him, ignoring the rest of the people who were staring at her. She only had eyes for Jason.

Elizabeth didn't feel nervous as she walked down the center of the church, her hair curled at the top of her head, her dress weighing a ton. All she was concerned about in that moment was making it to where the priest stood. Her gaze focused on Jason helped ease the nerves she felt earlier in the day. She hated having all eyes on her at any time.

His lips slowly turned into a smile, curling the sides of his mouth up slightly in that grin she loved so much. His eyes shined even brighter as her smile matched his, causing her stomach to flutter even more.

She never wanted to look away from him. But when her heel caught in the back of her dress, causing her to miss a step, she faltered, almost tripping in the middle of the church for everyone to see.

She caught herself though, a slight red tingeing her cheeks. When she righted herself, she allowed one quick glance at Jason which caused her eyes to narrow.

The jerk was grinning. Sure, he tried to hide it behind his hand, but she could see it in his eyes. She glared at him for a moment, a grin twitching the side of her mouth as well as they stared at each other.

God, she loved that man.

A throat clearing ahead of her caused Elizabeth to look away from Jason and towards the head of the church. Jax stood there, shifting from one foot to the next, jerking his head back to let her know that she should keep moving.

Giving a sheepish grin, Elizabeth ducked her head as she moved faster down the rest of the aisle. She smiled at Jax as she moved to stand opposite him and turned as everyone stood to see Emily finally make her way down the long church aisle.

She looked beautiful, glowing as she clutched to her fathers arm, her gaze locked on her future husband. Elizabeth had been nervous about the two of them jumping into a marriage so quickly. Jax and Courtney had just divorced, just like Emily and Nicholas. It seemed too quick to Elizabeth and she had voiced that to Emily when her best friend had announced the engagement.

But Emily had reassured Elizabeth that this is what she wanted. Elizabeth guessed that the entire time she was getting closer to Jason again; Emily had been doing the same with Jax. It still seemed a little… weird to Elizabeth, but as she watched to two look at each other, she could see the love in their eyes and knew that they would be happy with each other.

Both of them deserved it.

As Emily made it to the front of the church, Elizabeth went into maid-of-honor mode, taking Emily's bouquet, fixing her dress at the bottom. When all was settled, Elizabeth felt her gaze fall back towards Jason who sat in the front row, next to his mother. The priest's words filtered through her mind in the background as she and Jason gazed at each other. She couldn't help but think about how it would be them up there soon. Exchanging vows, pledging their love and life to one another.

It would be more intimate, though. Not as many guests, just the two of them and the ones they loved most. Her dress would be simple, not as large as Emily's. She didn't want such a large affair, and when she had told that to Jason, it looked as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

It would be perfect, she thought, smiling. Because it would be with Jason.

The thought of marrying Jason still caused excitement to travel through her, an excitement that hadn't seemed to die down ever since he proposed to her three months ago after one of their many bike rides.

She had always allowed herself to think about what a life with him would be like, but she had never allowed herself to actually believe that dream could come true. Until recently, when everything in both of their worlds began to tumble apart, when they were each others life lines.

It was as if fate had brought them together again.

Being with Jason still amazed her, though. Especially because of all that they had been through together. Fighting through the messes that were their lives and coming the winner in the end, together.

It had hurt her at first, the thought of all the pain Lucky had put her through, how he had lied to her and how much he had changed. But as much as he had hurt her, she still wished him the best, hoping that he could pick up his life again, if only for his baby.

The thought of Sam and Lucky having a child together should have hurt her in some way, but it didn't. A part of her felt as though they deserved each other after all they had put her and Jason through. But the other part of her, the mother in her, wished that they would be able to have a good life together, for their baby's sake.

But, the first part of her that cringed every time she saw Sam had to smile over what Emily had told her. How Sam did nothing but complain about her small apartment and having to sleep on a couch, how she cried over being broke. That part of Elizabeth couldn't help but feel some justice over the other woman's plight.

As the wedding continued, Elizabeth shifted between being Emily's maid-of-honor and gazing at Jason. She couldn't help but look at him and admire him in his suit. She would take him in a pair of jeans and plain t-shirt any day. But it was still nice to see him dressed up. He literally took her breath away.

As he watched her, Elizabeth placed her hand against her flat stomach, the fluttering continuing. She loved it when he looked at her like that, soft and loving. That's how she imagined he would look when she gave him the good news later that night.

She wasn't nervous that he would think it was the wrong time, that they weren't ready. She knew, with all her heart, that Jason would be just as thrilled to find out about her pregnancy as she was when Dr. Lee had confirmed it the day before.

* * *

Jason watched as tears formed in Elizabeth's eyes, her hand placed against her stomach, a smile touching her lips. He smiled in return, breathing a sigh of relief at the joyous look upon her beautiful face. It was in that moment that, he knew, that she decided to tell him that she was pregnant.

It was about time.

Everything was finally coming together in his life. And it was because of her. He would have the family he never thought he could have. He would live his life with the one woman he always thought was never within his reach.

Elizabeth had given him love, a family with her and Cameron, and now another child on the way.

He was the luckiest man in the world.

**The End**


End file.
